


We Do What We Always Do; We Survive

by mckays_girl



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, First Time, M/M, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-23 00:17:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15594039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mckays_girl/pseuds/mckays_girl
Summary: Shortly after the expedition returned to Atlantis, the Asurans arrived with more warships.AU after The Return Part 2 (S03E11)





	We Do What We Always Do; We Survive

**Author's Note:**

> This was a story I started writing in 2007 for some sort of challenge. I found it in my WIP folder last year and with a some help from spes_abrin I got it to where is is now. Thank you so much for being the best beta ever and being patient with me while I spent the past year trying to sort this mess out.

Moonlight reflected across the calm water as John leaned against the railing of Rodney’s balcony. They stood beside each other in companionable silence, drinking beer and gazing at the night sky. The past three weeks had been hectic, since they regained control of Atlantis from the Asurans. John spent most of that time cataloging the damage done to the city, while Rodney was busy making sure their systems were free from replicator code. Most of the personnel had returned from Earth, and Atlantis had just received its first supply shipment. It was a rare, peaceful night.

“Mm,” Rodney hummed contentedly, and finished off the last of his beer in three long gulps. 

John’s eyes traced the curve of Rodney’s neck as his throat constricted with each swallow. It was John’s guilty pleasure to watch Rodney, and Rodney usually obliged him by pretending not to notice. But tonight, with the full moon and the pleasant buzz of alcohol running through their systems, Rodney’s eyes locked with John’s as he set down his empty bottle. John smiled sheepishly and ducked his head to prevent being the object of Rodney’s intense focus.

Rodney turned his piercing gaze back out to the sea and the shift caused their arms to brush together. John shivered and pressed closer into Rodney’s warmth.

“It’s good to be home,” Rodney said quietly.

***

It wasn’t unusual for John to wake up practically pressed against Rodney. It made him feel protective when they were on a strange planet, and he’d often fall asleep in Rodney’s quarters on movie nights or playing video games to decompress after a bad mission. John would start dozing on Rodney’s couch or even the floor, and instead of sending John back to his own room, like a sane person should, Rodney would roll his eyes and make room for John on the narrow bed. They would sleep back to back, like they did off-world, heat soaking through layers of clothing, making John feel warm all over.

John was aware of the mutual attraction between them, but they never acted upon it. If it was up to him, he would have jumped Rodney years ago. Rodney, on the other hand, had some misguided sense of duty to protect John’s virtue or career or whatever. Why John tortured himself by spending so much time with Rodney was anyone’s guess, but John was not about to give up his friendship because of a little sexual frustration. Okay, a lot of sexual frustration, if John was being honest. Amazingly, neither of them let it affect their work. Oddly enough, it made their bond stronger.

***

There wasn’t anything interesting on M8X-276. John knew this because Rodney complained about it incessantly for the past two hours. He stood watching Rodney frown at his tablet, his P-90 slung loosely across his chest. The sun was setting, so John pulled off his aviator sunglasses and tucked them into the top left pocket of his tac vest. “You wanna wrap this up, buddy?”

Rodney let out a frustrated sigh. “Why couldn’t the ancients include descriptions of each planet in the database?”

“Maybe there’s something important on this planet besides tech,” John replied. “I’ll have Lorne’s team escort Dr. Parrish here to take a look.”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s go home.” Rodney shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and tried to unzip it with the hand holding his tablet. He grumbled to himself before dropping the backpack onto the ground and sinking to his knees so he could shove his tablet inside.

John had to turn away to stop himself from staring. He tapped his headset. “Teyla?”

“Yes, John?”

“We’re heading back.”

“Did you find anything of interest?” she inquired.

“Nah, Rodney couldn’t find any toys to play with,” he said, glancing back as Rodney stood.

Rodney rolled his eyes.

John smirked. “We’ll meet you back at the gate in about 20 minutes,” he told Teyla.

When they arrived at the gate, Ronon looked as bored as John felt. Luckily, since they didn’t find anything on the planet and considering that Elizabeth was busy with the arrival of the Daedalus, the debriefing would be mercifully short.

“Any plans tonight?” Ronon asked as they gathered at the gate.

John flashed him an innocent grin. “Rumor has it that some new Xbox games arrived this morning.”

Ronon’s expression brightened at the mention of the Xbox. He had gotten the hang of the controllers quickly and was now giving John a run for his money in most games. “What games?”

“Oh, only Madden ‘07, the new Call of Duty game, and Lego Star War 2.”

Rodney’s eyes lit up. “Did you say Lego Star Wars?”

“I did.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Rodney began to dial the DHD.

“You wanna play with us, Teyla?”

“Mostly certainly,” she replied. “I most enjoyed your Star Wars movies. I think I shall enjoy the game as well.”

“What are Legos?” Ronon asked as they crossed through the wormhole.

 

***

On its second return trip to Atlantis, the Daedalus had brought new personnel, including a group of physicists, computer scientists and engineers. Since Rodney was usually hiding in his lab when he wasn’t on missions, it fell upon Radek to complete their orientation. “This is the control room,” he announced as the gaggle of scientists looked around in amazement.

Chuck swiveled around in his chair and smiled. “This is where the magic happens,” he said jovially.

As Radek explained how each of the numerous systems functioned, he noticed an anomaly in the data appearing on the screen in front of him. He frowned, looked down at his tablet and then back up at the screen. “Sgt. Campbell,” he said, “I’m detecting some unusual readings from the long-range sensors.”

“Let me bring that system up on the overhead screen,” Chuck replied.

Radek’s frown deepened. “There is definitely a strange energy signature. Switch over to the subspace systems.”

Three red dots flashed onto the screen. They appeared to be moving toward the city at an alarming rate. That was all the warning they had before three Asuran warships dropped out of hyperspace in orbit around Atlantis.

“Raise the shields,” Radek yelled.

***

The SGC was looking to recruit more pilots and it was John’s job to decide who they would send to Atlantis. He tipped his chair back precariously while Majors Lorne and Rutherford read through a breakdown of the pros and cons of each pilot with the ATA gene. John wasn’t comfortable with administrative tasks, especially ones that put people’s lives in his hands. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion that shook the control tower.

***

“How did we miss this?” Elizabeth asked Dr. Zelenka as the three soldiers rushed into the control room from John’s office down the hall. With furrowed brows and lips pressed together tightly, she strained to listen over the pounding fear in her chest.

“The long-range scanners didn’t pick up their energy signal until they were right on top of us,” Radek explained. The ships began a barrage of fire, this time hitting the shield. The control tower rumbled with each strike.

“Pick up who’s energy signal?” John crossed the room and stood next to Elizabeth, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder as each strike sent tremors through city.

Radek pointed to the flashing red dots on the screen. “Three Asuran warships just came out of hyperspace and are attacking the city.”

John peered over Sgt. Campbell’s shoulder to get a better look at the screen. “Damage report.”

Chuck brought up the schematics for the control tower. “We know for sure the top of the tower was hit, but the security cameras in the hanger aren’t responding. We’ll need to send a crew up to determine the extent of the damage.”

“Okay, Rutherford, have a team meet you in the jumper bay.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Lorne, how many jumper pilots do we have available?”

Lorne sat down at the closest computer and brought up the schedule. “Besides, you, me and Rutherford, we have three available - Lieutenants Rivers, Edison and Bolton. Lt. Miller and Sgt. Stackhouse’s teams are off-world, and Major Kersey is on leave.”

“Okay, Sgt. Campbell, get in touch with Miller and Stackhouse and get them back here as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And we should call back any other off-world teams,” Elizabeth added.

Rodney rushed into the control room, obviously out of breath. “What the hell just happened?” he panted.

Radek twisted around in his chair. “The Asurans are back.”

“Move, move, move!” Rodney shoved St. Campbell out of his seat. “Oh, this is so not good.”

“Well, that is the understatement of the year,” Radek quipped.

Rodney ignored Radek and continued typing. “The Asuran ships are way more powerful than the Wraith cruisers. Our shield is being depleted rapidly.”

John hovered over Rodney’s shoulder, watching data flying across the screen. “How much time do we have?”

“Give me a few minutes to calculate it out.”

“Okay, Lorne, get some men on those railguns and make sure everyone is armed with ARGs in case the replicators try to come down here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Rodney, you and Radek keep working on getting an estimate of how long the shield will hold. Let us know as soon as you figure it out.”

“On it,” Rodney replied.

“Also, it might be a good idea to start prepping people in case of an evacuation. We should at least let Dr. Beckett know what is happening,” Radek added.

“I think that’s a good plan. I’ll speak with Carson and at let him know what’s going on.”

“I’m not going to let it come to that. I’ll head to the control chair to see if I can soften them up,” John snapped before storming off to the chair room.

Rodney looked apologetically at Elizabeth. “John loves this city,” he said quietly.

Elizabeth put a hand on Rodney’s shoulder. “I know.”

***

When John finally reached the eastern tower, he immediately sat down and thought _on_ at the chair. The chair hummed underneath him, and its glow lit up the room. He tapped his headset. “What the status of the jumper bay, Rutherford?”

“Not good, sir.” There was crackling in the background. “Part of the ceiling collapsed and Dr. Dickenson was here when it happened. We had a med team evac him. About half the jumpers are trapped under debris.”

“How bad is he?” John asked.

“You’ll have to check in with the infirmary.”

“What about the overhead bay doors?”

“They won’t be a problem, seeing as there’s a hole blasted right through them. It’s definitely big enough to fit a jumper.”

“Okay, I’ll have the pilots meet you there.”

“Yes, sir.”

John tapped his headset again to connect to the citywide communication system. “All flight crews, please report to the jumper bay immediately.”

John switched channels so he could speak to Rodney. “Any luck on those calculations.”

“You’re not going to like this,” Rodney replied.

“Just tell me.”

“Our best estimate gives us about twenty hours.”

“Okay, I think I can work with that. Any way you can extend it?”

“Radek is brainstorming with a group of scientists to come up with some ideas.”

“Give me a status update as soon as you’ve got something. Meanwhile, I’m going to see what our drone weapons can do to those ships. Let me know if they make a dent in those things.” John closed his eyes and the chair fully reclined. He reached out with his mind, letting it join with the pulse of the city, her energy linking with his. Every ounce of his being connected with the ancient technology beneath him. John concentrated on firing a group of drones at one of the Asuran ships. “Anything?” he asked.

“I registered a decrease in the power of shields. Fire again.”

John closed his eyes again and this time shot several bursts of drones at the ship he previously attacked. “How was that?”

“There was a huge drop in the power level of their shield. I think we actually might have a good chance at beating them. Oh, crap!”

John opened his eyes. “What?”

“Three more ships just dropped out of hyperspace.”

“I’ll just keep firing at them.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Rodney said.

“Why not?”

“Firing drones drains the Zed.P.M. faster, and more ships firing on us taxes our shields more, which also depletes the Zed.P.M’s power faster. I need to recalculate how much time we have left.”

“I’ll get the jumpers in the air and meet you in the control room. Sheppard out.”

 

***

Elizabeth hurried into the infirmary to look for Carson. She walked up to Dr. Biro. “Is Dr. Beckett available?”

“He’s in surgery right now. Dr. Dickenson was in the jumper bay doing diagnostics when the ceiling collapsed and crushed his leg.”

“Is he going to be alright?”

“Dr. Beckett is trying to save his leg. With any luck, he won’t have to amputate. Either way, Dr. Dickenson will live.”

“Hopefully, we’ll get some good news. In the meantime, start prepping the other patients for possible evacuation and have Dr. Beckett contact me when he’s out of surgery.”

***

“Rodney, how did they get here so fast?” Elizabeth asked.

“Our best guess . . .”

“Guess?” John interrupted.

“Yes, Colonel. Unless we can somehow hack into their systems, leaving ourselves open to a virus, the best I can give you is an educated guess,” Rodney argued.

Elizabeth let out a frustrated sigh. “Rodney, focus. John, let him speak.”

“As I was saying,” Rodney continued, “our best guess is that the Asurans somehow adapted their Zed.P.Ms to work the same way they do when flying the city as a ship.”

“What do you mean?” John asked.

“Well, the replicators have access to unlimited ZPMs,” Radek explained. “It is not unfeasible to say that they upgraded their hyperdrive to be able to travel at a faster speed, given that we could not detect them until they were pretty much here.”

“And even if they depleted their ZedPMs,” Rodney added, “they would have extras on the ship.”

“So, what you’re saying,” John concluded, “is that no matter how much damage we do to their shields, it won’t be enough because they’ll keep replacing the ZPMs.”

“Exactly,” Rodney agreed. “Even though we can deplete their ZedPMs, their shields would outlast ours.”

“How much time do we have left,” Elizabeth asked.

Radek pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “Right now, less than eight hours.”

Visibly shaken, Elizabeth sat down next to Rodney. “It’s only been an hour; how did we lose so much time?”

Radek pointed to the power consumption graph displayed on the screen. “Double the amount of ships means double the rate at which power is lost. Plus, firing the drones used a good deal of energy.”

“If I had known that, I wouldn’t have tried them,” John protested.

“We had to try something,” Rodney said. “And how were we to know that they had more ships on the way.”

John furrowed his brow and studied the data. “Are we doing any damage to the ships?”

“Yes, the railguns and drones from the jumpers are weakening their shields, but like I said, they most certainly have a supply on ZedPMs on board,” Rodney reminded him.

“What are our options?” Elizabeth asked.

“Maybe if we concentrated all of our fire power on one ship, we could take it down. That would at least decrease the rate at which our power is depleting.” Rodney brought up a different chart showing the decrease in shield power when John fired the drones. “If only I could get my hands on a schematic of their ships, I may be able to pinpoint a weak spot.”

“Before we do that, I’m going to try negotiating with them,” Elizabeth said.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” John asked.

“Maybe, maybe not. But it could buy us some time for Rodney and Radek to come up with a viable solution.” Elizabeth stood and walked over to a large monitor. “Chuck, see if you can contact the Asurans.”

They all looked up at the screen as an image of Oberoth appeared. “Dr. Weir,” he said, “how nice to see you again.”

“I must say, I’m more than a little surprised to see you.”

“Each of us can be replicated many times,” Oberoth explained. “Just one of the many benefits of living in a collective.”

“You need to stop the attack on our city,” Elizabeth said.

“And why would I want to do that?”

“I was hoping we could work toward peace between us.”

“I think we are long past the point of finding a peaceful solution to our differences. Did you think we would not know of your efforts to spy on our city?”

“Elizabeth,” Rodney interrupted, “they’re attempting to upload a virus to our systems.”

A red light flashed on the screen, and a progress bar showed that a file was 20% transferred to the Atlantean computers. That percentage was swiftly rising. “Give me thirty seconds,” Rodney said and began typing hurriedly. The virus continued to upload quickly and reached 93% before Rodney turned to Sgt. Campbell. “Shut it down!” Sgt. Campbell ended the call and the progress bar for the virus disappeared.

“Well, that didn’t work,” John said. “Any other ideas?”

Rodney displayed a diagram on his screen and smiled triumphantly. “I was able to download a blueprint of their ship.” 

John slid into the seat next to Rodney. “Great job, buddy. Any idea on where to hit them?”

Rodney pointed to the back of the ship. “Underneath their rear thrusters would be the optimal spot. If we can do enough damage at once, we may be able to overload their ZedPM. I’ll send this data to the jumpers so they can input it into their targeting systems.”

“Is there something else we can do to slow down the power drain on our ZPM?” Elizabeth asked.

“We could try to submerge the city,” Radek suggested.

With a glimmer of hope in her eyes, Elizabeth turned her attention to Radek. “Can we do that?”

“Of course, we can do that,” Rodney snapped, “but that would also consume a lot of energy.”

“When the Ancients were here they activated a lot of new systems,” Radek explained. “We discovered a subroutine that will submerge the city automatically. We just need to make some adjustments to get it to work with only one ZPM.”

“How much time will it give us?” Elizabeth watched over Rodney’s shoulder as he inputted numbers in to a formula.

“It depends on how much the water dissipates the Asuran’s energy attacks,” Rodney said. “According to my calculations, best case is a week.”

“And worst-case scenario?”

Rodney looked up at Elizabeth. “The worst-case scenario is that we use up too much power and we end up with less time than we started with.”

“And what happens when the jumpers need to get back to base?” John asked.

“Luckily, all the jumpers have the ability to become submersibles,” Radek said.

“Okay, I believe the benefits are worth the risk. What do you think, John?”

“I’d say we have a plan.”

Rodney looked up from his keyboard. “Give us thirty minutes and we’ll be ready.”

“Rodney, can we spare enough power to dial Earth?”

“As long as you keep the conversation relatively short, yes.”

“Okay, Chuck, get me General Landry. I’ll take the call in my office.”

“Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

“Meanwhile, I need more options,” she said, looking pointedly at Rodney and Radek.

Radek gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “We have the city’s best scientists brainstorming solutions.”

“I’m going to take a jumper out and see if we can take out at least one of their ships.” John got up and put as hand on Rodney’s shoulder. “Keep me in the loop.”

“Be careful,” Rodney said, but his eyes said more than his words.

John felt something clench in his chest. He nodded curtly and dashed off to the jumper bay.

***

“General Landry, thank you for taking my call.”

“Dr. Weir, I’ve been apprised of the situation.”

“The leader of the Asurans, Oberoth, claimed that we were spying on them. Is this true?”

“Oberoth? According to your reports, he was destroyed.”

“Well, apparently, his consciousness was saved and he was rebuilt. But that still doesn’t answer my question. Were we, in fact, spying on the Asurans?”

“That information is classified.”

“I have the highest level of security clearance possible. I have a right to know.”

“Fine. Ever since the Asurans attempted to take over Atlantis, we’re had the Daedalus scouting their home planet between supply runs.”

“And didn’t think it was important to inform me?”

“It was strictly a military operation and there was nothing to report. We couldn’t detect anything on the planet. I don’t understand how they were able to cloak all those warships.”

“It’s a moot point now.”

“I agree. Right now, we need to focus on destroying the ships that are in orbit around the city. The Asgard are ready to beam the ZPM from Antarctica to the SGC so we can deploy the troops. I can have an elite squad with ARGs assembled in less than an hour.”

“We’re planning on submerging the city. Hopefully, this will give us more that the eight hours we currently have left.”

“I’ll contact you in about an hour.”

“Thank you, General.”

***

Elizabeth turned to Chuck. “Get me citywide.”

“Attentional all personnel. We are about to submerge the city. It’s going to be a bit of a rough ride. Please make sure everything is secure around you.”

Rodney and Radek exchanged nervous glances. 

“Ready?” Radek asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

They both turned to their keyboards and typed in a series of commands. The city began to rumble and slowly sank until it thumped on the ocean floor. As they city stopped shaking, Rodney and Radek began typing furiously at their keyboards.

“Do prdele!” Radek swore. His eyes never left the screen as his fingers swept across the keys.

“What?”

“This is not good,” Radek muttered, still staring intensely at the data in front of him.

“What?” Elizabeth repeated.

“According to our calculations, we only gained two hours from that.”

Rodney’s shoulders slumped. “Given the time we spent preparing for submersion, that puts us a t-minus 9 hours and counting.”

***

Major Lorne’s hands hovered over the control panel, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was about to shoot more drones at the Asuran warship, but abruptly had to change course to avoid being shot. “Shit,” he growled in frustration. Static buzzed in his ear as Colonel Sheppard came over the headset.

“Jumper Two, what’s your status?”

“We seem to be making progress by concentrating all of our efforts on one ship, sir, but it’s been tricky avoiding the shots fired from the other ships. We’ve already lost Rivers and Miller.”

“I’ve been hit!” Edison yelled. His panicked voice coming in loud over John’s headset until all that was left was static.

“Damn it, “John swore. “Head back to Atlantis. We’re aborting the mission.”

“Copy that,” Lorne replied. The energy beam fired from the ship cut an arc through the sky and hit a nearby jumper, causing a fiery explosion. Lorne looked at the display screen. “Jumper Five’s been hit! Bolton is down!”

“All jumpers get back to the bay!” Sheppard yelled over the radio.

The ray continued on its course, emitting a pulsating glow that headed straight for Lorne’s ship. He veered right, narrowly missing the blast. Debris from the damaged jumper was scattered on the surface of the ocean. Another pass of the weapon grazed the engine pods, causing Lorne’s jumper to spin out of control. “Fuck.” He focused on easing the ship out of the spin.

Gradually, the puddle jumper came to a stop, but Lorne was farther away from the city and the energy beam was still being discharged from the warship. He zipped ahead, ducking under the beam, and aimed for the water, quickly switching on the jumper’s shield. He navigated downward until he was within the safety of the city’s shield. Dropping through the bulkhead doors, Lorne docked the jumper and opened the rear hatch. He jogged down the ramp and headed to the control room. 

***

Elizabeth sat at her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose as if trying to ward off a headache. She caught her reflection in the glass of her office window, eyes underscored with dark circles. Sleep had been elusive these past few months, the burden of being in command keeping her up at night. Her door slid open and Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka stepped inside. Both fidgeted nervously, looking down at their feet.

“Gentlemen,” she acknowledged with a nod of her head.

Rodney met her gaze. “We finished the preliminary reports on possible solutions to our current, ah, situation.”

“What are our options?” Elizabeth asked, gesturing for them to sit.

“We could wait for Earth to send reinforcements,” Radek suggested as he took his seat, “but I am not sure what good that will do.”

“What else?” She patiently folded her hands in front of her, but it was obvious, from the set of her jaw, how stressed she was.

“Look,” Rodney snapped, “our ZedPM is almost halfway depleted, and the strength of the shield to diminishing rapidly. Unless the SGC has an Anti Replicator **nuke** , we’re toast!”

“Rodney,” she said stiffly. “I want options, so unless you have something constructive to add . . .” Elizabeth looked at him expectantly.

“Elizabeth, you know I want to figure this out more than anyone, but I’ve got nothing,” Rodney admitted remorsefully.

“I am also out of ideas,” Radek added.

“The energy weapons they’re using are draining our shield rapidly. In less than nine hours, the ZedPM won’t have enough power to dial Earth. You need to make the decision now, or there won’t be a decision left to make,” Rodney explained.

Elizabeth pursed her lips and with a somber expression nodded at the scientists. She tapped her radio. “John, are our pilots back?”

“What’s left of them.”

Elizabeth winced. “I’m awaiting a call from General Landry.”

“Good. We could use some reinforcements. I’m taking a transporter to the control room now.”

“John.” Elizabeth paused, carefully choosing her words. “I’m planning to evacuate the city.”

A minute later, Sheppard stormed into the Elizabeth’s office. “So, what? We’re just going to give up?”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do, John.”

“We can’t just let them have the city!”

“I know,” she said solemnly. “Before we leave, we’ll have to set the self-destruct.”

John shuddered, remembering his vision from when the Asurans invaded his thoughts. He could almost feel the pain of dying in a fiery blast. John shook his head to clear the image from his mind. “I’ll do it,” he offered, avoiding Rodney’s panicked stare.

Rodney closed his eyes and swallowed, then cautiously raised a hand, and shot John a defiant glare. “Since two security codes are required for the self-destruct, I volunteer to use mine.”

Elizabeth gave them a tight smile. “Thank you,” she said earnestly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me gentlemen, I’m expecting a call from the SGC any moment.”

As they left Elizabeth’s office, John caught up to Rodney, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him aside. “Rodney,” he hissed.

Rodney waved Radek on and tried to pull his arm out of John’s grasp. “What?”

John’s hand tightened around Rodney’s bicep. “What do you mean, what? That little stunt you pulled in Elizabeth’s office.”

“Oh, no,” Rodney snapped. “Don’t you pull your self-sacrificing hero act on me. You’re an idiot if you think I’m stepping foot off this base without you!”

John glared at Rodney, at the stricken look in his eyes and tense set of his jaw, and then his expression softened. “Rodney,” he repeated softer than before and eased his grip, changing it to more of an affectionate squeeze.

***

Elizabeth stood in the control room, arms folded over her chest and a grim expression on her face. The gate whooshed to life and General Landry’s voice came over the radio. “Dr. Weir, we have a team of Marines ready to go.”

“General, I’m afraid we’re past that point. Submerging the city only gave us an extra two hours. I feel the best course of action is to abandon the city. We need to conserve what little power we have left for a full-scale evacuation. We’ll be sending our personnel through shortly.”

“I’m not sure that IOA would agree with you. Allowing Atlantis to fall into replicator hands would be an unacceptable security risk.”

“Well, the IOA isn’t responsible for the safety of these people; I am. And don’t worry, I have no plans on letting the Asurans have the city. All self-destruct protocols will be followed.”

“For what it’s worth Elizabeth, I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” The wormhole cut out and the gate room dimmed. Elizabeth closed eyes for a moment, steadying her nerves so she could make the announcement.

“Dr. Weir,” Sergeant Campbell’s said, looking up at her. “Dr. McKay wanted me to let you know that we should be ready to send the first group for evacuation in about 30 minutes.”

She dropped a hand onto Chuck’s shoulder and squeezed. “Patch me into the intercom.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Attention all personnel, as you all know we are under attack by the replicators. Although a valiant effort has been made by everyone in the city to defeat this threat, I am afraid this is a battle we cannot win. Therefore, for the safety of this expedition, I regret to inform you that we are heading back to Earth. Everyone will have 30 minutes to gather their personal belongings. Please meet with your department heads for further instructions.”

***

Rodney typed hastily as he configured the macro to redial the gate every thirty-eight minutes. He paused for a moment to read over the code, hand reaching blindly for his cup of coffee. After managing to grab the mug and bring it to his lips, he realized it was empty. Rodney sighed, put the cup down, and continued coding.

“Hey buddy,” John said softly.

Rodney whipped his head around. “Oh, hey.”

“I thought you could use this.” John handed Rodney a warm thermos.

Rodney unscrewed the cap and the rich aroma of coffee wafted up. “Oh, thank goodness.”

John sat down next to him. “Radek’s finishing up meeting with the other scientists. He said he’s going to pack his things and then meet you here.”

Rodney gulped down about half the coffee and turned his eyes back to the screen, his fingers click-clacking across the keyboard. “What did you pack?”

“My picture with Evel Knievel, my favorite running shoes and War and Peace.”

“That’s it?” Rodney stared at him incredulously.

John shrugged. “What about you?”

“I haven’t had a chance to pack yet, but I guess my diplomas.” Rodney looked almost embarrassed.

John arched an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“Well that, and a bunch of stuff from the lab to work on when we get back.”

“Earth,” John said solemnly.

“Yeah, Earth.”

***

Carson wiped the sweat off his brow, giving himself a moment to breathe while Dr. Dickenson was wheeled into the recovery ward. The surgery had been successful, although Dickenson would need extensive physical therapy and would most likely walk with a limp. Dr. Adams and Dr. McBride would be prepping Dickenson for evacuation with the first group to leave Atlantis. 

“Dr. Beckett?”

Taking a deep breath, Carson turned around with a forced smile. He was surprised to see a steaming cup of tea held in front of him. “Oh, bless you, lass.”

“I thought you needed a little pick-me-up,” Marie said.

Gratefully accepting the mug, he took a small sip. “What’s our status on evacuating patients?”

“The first dial-out is in fifteen minutes. Dr. Biro and her team are currently getting the most severe cases ready to be transported to the gate room; Dr. Nieves sent the ambulatory patients back to their quarters to pack for the second trip; and Dr. Cole has a team in the research lab gathering all data and samples.”

“Excellent. Please keep me updated.”

The patients were in capable hands. The Atlantis medical staff was among the best in two galaxies, and Carson could confidently leave his patients in their care while he gathered all his personal notes and data files on top-level clearance projects. He also needed to pack a bag with herbs from different planets that had promising medicinal properties, along with the vials of the improved Wraith retrovirus he was working on.

***

The gate room was filled with gurneys and wheelchairs, weaved in among scientists and marines. Tension filled the air as the gate crackled with each encoded chevron. As the wormhole splashed through the center, Sargent Harriman’s voice could be heard over the radio.

“Atlantis, we have medical teams standing by to receive patients.”

The group moved forward as a cohesive unit, one by one being swallowed up by the glow of the gate. As the crowd began to thin, more people filed into the gate room for the next thirty minutes. They crossed through two at a time, pushing carts of equipment along with them.

Rodney watched the computer screen as the time counted down. At the thirty-seven-minute mark, he signaled to the soldiers to halt travel until the gate redialed. He held his breath as the seconds ticked away, hoping that the strain on the shield wouldn’t compromise the gate’s constant re-dialing effort.

The outer rim of the gate slowly began to spin as each chevron was locked into place. Rodney sighed in relief at the sight of the shimmering wormhole. Travel resumed, with scientists and marines pushing and pulling gear up the ramp.

Rodney turned to Sargent Campbell. “Make sure they pause at the 37-minute mark. I’ll be in the lab. Call me immediately if there are any issues.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Teyla took a deep breath, taking a moment to center herself amongst the surrounding chaos. Scientists, technicians and military personnel rushed through the hallways, frantically packing equipment and moving it to the gate room. She was charged with the task of making sure the scientists went with their assigned groups, so that no stragglers were left behind.

The botanists and biologists were scheduled for the fourth trip to Earth. The door slid open as Teyla walked into the greenroom, where Dr. Parrish and Dr. Brown were loading large plants onto a dolly. “I just wanted to remind you both that you need to be in the gate room in an hour.”

“We’re just about set,” Parrish said. “We just have one more cart to load.”

Teyla nodded and continued to the oceanography lab to check on Drs. Moore and McNab. The door was open and when she popped her head into the room, she could see that they were struggling with a heavy piece of equipment. “Do you require assistance?” she asked.

They both paused. “Yes, thank you, that would be great,” Moore said.

Teyla tapped her headset. “Major Lorne, can you please send two men to lab seven for equipment assistance.”

“I should have someone available in about fifteen minutes,” Lorne replied.

“Someone will be with you shortly,” Teyla explained to the scientists.

***

Ronon preferred fighting to retreat, but during his years of military service on Sateda he was no stranger to strategic withdrawal. Over the past year, he had considered Atlantis his home and now the Asurans were taking that away. Ronon despised them; he loathed them as much as he loathed the Wraith for destroying his home years before. He tried not to let his anger poison him, tried to hold back the memories. Instead, Ronon focused on his orders, on getting people safely to the gate room, stuffing his emotions into the furthest recesses of his mind.

***  
The last of Carson’s staff left an hour ago. He was scheduled for the current dial-out, but was giving the infirmary one last look-over to make sure nothing was forgotten. _I really should recheck the research lab_ , he thought.

“Time to go, doc,” a voice growled from behind him.

Carson swung around to see Ronon standing in the doorway, looking menacing. “Just a second, lad. There are a few more things . . .”

“Now!” Ronon barked, crossing the room to grasp his shoulder and push him towards the door.

“Okay,” Carson said mulishly. “No need to shove.” He scooped up his bag and laptop, and was escorted into the hallway.

Teyla was waiting there, a light sheen of sweat on her brow. “I have finished searching the labs. We should go.”

Ronon nodded and followed her to the gate room, practically dragging Beckett along.

 

***

Radek plugged his tablet into the console and began typing. “Oh no,” he muttered.

Rodney’s head popped up from behind his laptop, where he was furiously typing. “What?”

“Two more ships just dropped out of hyperspace. The ZPM will be drained much faster than we expected.”

Rodney brought up the power distribution system. “How much faster?”

“We may not be able to dial the gate after this.”

“Sheppard, we’ve got a problem,” Rodney yelled down to the gate room.

“What is it, Rodney?”

“More Asuran ships showed up. I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to keep dialing out. We need to get these people moving faster.”

Major Lorne and Lieutenant Cadman ushered people through the gate, urging them to move as quickly as possible. Teyla and Ronan arrived with the last of the scientists and Carson in tow.

“I’m sorry, Colonel,” Carson said. “There’s just so much I wanted to take.” He clutched his laptop to his chest with one hand, and the other hand squeezed tightly around the handles of his bag.

“Just go,” Sheppard snapped, gesturing towards the gate.

Carson nodded and followed the rest of the stragglers through the gate. Lights flickered and alarms blared in the control tower.

“Rodney, what’s going on?”

“The secondary systems are beginning to shut down. The city is going into self-protect mode and the shield is shrinking. We haven’t got much time left!”

“Elizabeth, go!” John shouted. “We’ll be right behind you!”

Elizabeth nodded. “We’ll see you on the other side, John. Good luck,” she said before crossing the threshold of the wormhole with Sergeant Campbell close behind. 

“Sheppard, we’re ready to arm the self-destruct,” Rodney yelled from the control room.

John signaled to Lorne and Cadman to go ahead, but before they could pass through the event horizon the wormhole cut out. “Crap,” he muttered. Sheppard sprinted up the stairs to the control room. “Rodney?” 

Rodney hit a few keys on the console and looked up toward Radek. “What’s our status? Is there any power left in the ZedPM?”

Radek frowned and shook his head. “The ZPM is drained. There is not enough power dial Earth again.”

“What are our options?” John asked.

“We have about three minutes before the shield is completely gone and water starts flooding the control room,” Rodney explained.

“I’ll go get a jumper. We can use the gate bridge to get back to Earth.”

“Sheppard, wait! I need you here to initiate the self-destruct sequence.”

“Okay, Lorne. Bring down a jumper so we can get the hell outta here.”

“Yes, sir!”

John stood in front of the computer terminal next to Rodney. “Okay, Rodney what do I need to do?”

Rodney typed a series of commands into the console and the terminal near John prompted him for his access code. “I’m going to set the self-destruct countdown for ten-minutes. On my mark, enter your password.”

“Ready.”

“Okay, now.”

The timer ticked down: 10:00 . . . 9:59 . . . 9:58 . . . 9:57. A blast struck a now unprotected nearby spire, reverberating through the walls of the control tower.

“We cannot stay here much longer,” Teyla said, gripping a console to steady herself.

Lorne’s voice was tinny on Sheppard’s headset. “Colonel, the floor panels won’t open.”

“Shit,” Sheppard muttered.

“What?” Rodney looked even more panicked at Sheppard’s mumbled curse.

“The floor panels won’t retract.”

“Let me see.” Rodney attached his tablet to a console and stabbed at the screen as the walls shook around them. “This isn’t working,” he griped. “There’s a manual override in the gate room.”

“Rodney, wait.” Sheppard jogged down the stairs, coming up beside Rodney.

Rodney waited for John and then continued walking until he reached a control panel. He popped the panel open and was about the plug his tablet into the device when a blast from above rattled the jumper bay, causing a section of the ceiling to crumble.

“Rodney! Look out!” Sheppard yelled, shoving Rodney to the ground and rolling them out of the way, before the debris nearly crushed them. John quashed the urge to check Rodney over for any injuries, instead pushing himself to his knees and offering Rodney a hand.

“Thanks.” Rodney took Sheppard’s hand and pulled himself up.

Another blast shook the room, causing more fragments to fall. John grabbed Rodney’s wrist and began to haul him back to the control room. “Get moving” he growled, herding Rodney toward the stairs.

“Hey,” Rodney protested, scooping up his tablet. “Just give me a moment will you.”

“Rodney!” John said warningly.

Rodney ignored him and climbed over the rubble as water poured in through the hole in the tower. He connected his tablet to the wiring inside the panel, entered a few commands and the panels to the jumper bay slid open. 

As Lorne lowered the jumper into the gate room, a blast came through the balcony window, shattering glass everywhere. Cadman collapsed on the ground, clutching her left leg. Ronon rushed to her side, pulling her into an upright position. “Cadman’s been hit!”

“Get her to the jumper,” John instructed him. “We gotta get outta here.”

The rear hatched opened and Lorne stepped out to help Ronon carry Cadman in to the rear compartment. They quickly but carefully laid Laura on one of the benches in the cargo bay and sat on either side of her. 

Radek plugged his tablet into a nearby panel and began to run diagnostics. “This ship is not equipped with the gate bridge macro. I need a minute to upload it.”

“There’s no time. We’ll gate to New Athos; you can do it there.” John shrugged out of his backpack and scrambled into his seat as the rear hatch closed. “Hang on kids!” he warned as he dialed the gate address. Rodney and Teyla barely had time to grab onto the overhead cargo net before the jumper started moving.

“We’re gonna die,” Rodney shrieked.

“Shut up, Rodney!” John snapped.

As the wormhole opened, another blast came through the window striking the jumper. The ship wobbled, bouncing off the rim of the stargate as it flew across the event horizon. The jumper crossed to the other side, slamming into the ground and skidding across the dirt into the DHD before continuing into a small grove of trees.

***

John blinked up into the very concerned gaze of Rodney. An acrid smell hung heavy in the air, and out of the corner of his eye, John could see that the bulkhead door to the cockpit was closed. “What happened?” he asked and tried to sit up. He thought better of it, wincing as his head throbbed and his vision went fuzzy, and laid back down across the bench seat in the rear of the jumper, his head in Rodney’s lap. 

“We were hit by the Asuran energy beam while crossing the event horizon,” Rodney explained holding an ice pack to the lump on John’s forehead. “When we crashed, you hit your head on the console. It probably gave you more brain damage than you already had.” Rodney’s snark was betrayed by the quiver in his voice.

“Actually, you’re quite lucky, Colonel,” Radek said.

“What do you mean, he’s lucky?” Rodney snapped. “He could have died!”

“Precisely,” Radek replied. “If that beam had been a few feet over to the left . . .” He trailed off, seeing the abject terror in Rodney’s expression.

John reached up and squeezed Rodney’s hand under the pretense of holding the ice pack on his own head. Slowly, he attempted to sit up again, ignoring the pounding headache behind his eyes. “Is everyone else alright?”

“Aside from you and Laura, we are unharmed,” Teyla said serenely, even though her appearance was disheveled.

Ronon unpacked the on-board med-kit supplies and grabbed some bandages and a bottle of water. He crouched on the floor, carefully cutting away the singed clothing from Cadman’s leg. She hissed, eyes snapping shut as he peeled away the remaining layer. “Sorry,” he said.

Cadman opened her eyes. “No, it’s okay. I’m fine, really.” She squeezed them shut again as Ronon poured cool water over her wound to try to reduce the temperature. “Oww.”

“I know it hurts. You have a pretty nasty burn,” he explained as he gently patted her leg dry.

“I don’t even know how it hit me.”

Rodney looked up. “Just imagine the heat of a star, significantly more intense than the sun, focused into a single beam. Now, if even just a small fraction of that energy were to refract off the glass in the control tower, it would still be incredibly destructive.”

Laura winced as the bandage was wrapped around her leg. “But, I wasn’t anywhere near the window. Besides, it hit the floor, not me.”

“True,” Rodney agreed, “but even the area surrounding the beam is affected. So, all of the localized material - the air, and fabrics will quickly increase in temperature. Hence, the second-degree burn, which I might add, you’re very lucky because any closer and you’d be missing the entire limb in a very neat cauterized line.”

John shot him a dark look. “Thank you for that mental image.”

“What?”

“Nevermind.” John shook his head, which just made it hurt worse. He attempted to stand up to survey the damage, but his legs were shaky.

“I think it would be better if you stayed seated, Colonel,” Lorne said.

“The settlement isn’t far from, here,” Teyla said. “I will go for help.”

“Take Lorne with you,” John said. “I don’t think we’re in any immediate danger, but it’s better not to head out alone.”

Teyla and Lorne left their packs in the rear of the jumper, and with only their P-90s and radios, waited for Radek to lower the rear hatch. They peered out cautiously.

“We’re about 50 feet from the gate sir,” Lorne said. “And the DHD is in bad shape.”

“Oh, great,” Rodney snapped. “Another thing for me to fix.”

“We will be back as fast as we can,” Teyla said.

Ronon helped Laura into a sitting position on the bench to be more comfortable. “What can I give her for the pain?”

Rodney reached into the med kit and pulled out a small bottle. After reading the label, he popped the cap open and dumped two pills into his palm before handing the bottle to Ronon. “Here, have her take two of these.” Rodney offered the painkillers to John, and then glared at his petulant pout. They stared at each other for an intense minute until John finally relented and reached for the pills.

Ronon took two more pills from the container and handed them to Laura with a bottle of water. “It’ll be okay,” he said as he wrapped her leg with gauze bandages.

“I know.”

“How ya holding up there, Lieutenant?” John asked as Rodney helped him to his feet.

“Just peachy, sir,” Cadman retorted through gritted teeth.

“Just hang in there.”

She nodded. “If I can survive being trapped in McKay’s brain, I can handle anything, sir.”

Rodney glared at her indignantly. “Oh, very funny.”

“Just get yourselves settled in. It may be a little while until Teyla and Lorne arrive with help.”

***

The sour smell was stronger in the cockpit, but most of the smoke in the front compartment of the jumper had dissipated. The ship’s console and DHD were covered with a thick layer of foam, and discarded fire extinguishers lay strewn across the floor. The parts of the DHD that were visible were blackened, twisted metal. Sunlight poured in front a hole in the roof that was about a foot in diameter.

Rodney examined the fractured crystal he pulled out of the panel and placed it in a pile of similarly broken ones. “Okay, the control console is completely fried,” he announced.

“Any good news?” John asked.

“I’m afraid not. The HUD screen is fractured in multiple places and I don’t have enough working control crystals to get the communications systems up.”

“Also, the DHD outside has been severely damaged,” Zelenka added.

“Looks like we’re trapped here,” Ronon said.

“No way,” John argued, casting an angry glare over his shoulder. “McKay and Zelenka will fix the jumper and save the day.”

“Oh, that’s right. When you’re busy playing hero it’s ‘shut up, Rodney’, but when everything is going to hell, who do you call on? The hull is breached you idiot. Even if we can get the ship flying again, unless you have a way to magically bend the metal back into place and seal it airtight, there’s no way we’re going into space,” McKay huffed.

“As much as I hate to, I have to agree with Rodney,” Radek confessed. “It will not be safe for space travel, even if we could make it fly.”

“So, we’re trapped here,” Ronon repeated.

“What about converting the cloak into a shield?” John suggested. “You know, like when we were whale watching.”

“The blast fried our systems. Without being able to recharge the ship, I couldn’t guarantee we’d have enough power to sustain a shield long enough to make it across the gate bridge,” Rodney replied. 

“Yes,” Radek agreed. “We would need access to a power source capable of recharging the ship.” 

“Would Dr. Weir send the Daedalus to come rescue us if we didn’t come through the stargate?” Laura asked.

Rodney glared at her indignantly. “Of course, they’ll send the Daedalus. I’m the smartest man in two galaxies. They need me.”

Zelenka cleared his throat.

“Oh, yes. They’d probably want Radek back too,” he conceded. “And that’s assuming they can figure out where we are, or if that haven’t already declared us dead. Oh god, what if they’ve given up already?”

John put a hand on Rodney’s back. “Easy buddy. I’m sure they’re still trying to figure things out on their end.”

***

A little over an hour later, Teyla and Lorne arrived back with a group of Athosians, including the village doctor, Galen Jarrell. Galen was an older man, a rarity in the Pegasus galaxy. His hair was completely white and kept short, and the lines in his face suggested he’d lived through some tough times, but he had kind eyes and a warm smile. He was always welcoming when the team accompanied Teyla to the village. 

Galen leaned down next to Laura and checked her wound. He took several large quartz crystals out of his bag and with the help of an assistant, Galen waved the rocks closely over Laura’s leg, being careful not to touch the bandage.

“What are those for?” Ronon asked.

“The rocks will help draw the heat out of her leg,” Galen explained.

“Voodoo,” Rodney quipped. John elbowed him. “Oww.”

After several minutes, Galen seem satisfied with his work. “Load this young lady onto the stretcher,” he said. “Come over here, John. I heard you received a head injury.”

“I’m fine,” John said, but let the doctor look at his pupils and feel the lump on the top of his head.

“Any blurred vision? Dizziness?”

“Not anymore. Just a slight headache.”

“Okay, if it comes back or you experience any other symptoms, come see me, but I think you’ll live.”

Rodney rolled his eyes. “Well, hurray for that.”

“Well, if we’re going to be guests here for a while, we might as well set up at base of operations,” John suggested. “Teyla, how far is the Athosian settlement from here?”

“Not far. Approximately 5 klicks from our current location.”

“You expect us to lug our gear three miles?” Rodney whined.

“Come on McKay, the exercise will be good for you.” John clapped Rodney on the shoulder and put on his aviator sunglasses.

“You won’t be saying that when I’m too exhausted to fix the jumper,” Rodney groused.

***

The heavily forested planet of New Athos had many lakes and rivers interspersed among the giant trees and lush foliage. To the west of the gate was the village, which stood in the middle of a clearing next to a large fresh-water lake. There was about three acres of farmland north of the village, consisting mostly of berries, grains and root vegetables. A few miles south of the village led to a larger lake, where the herds migrated to during the summer.

The main lake was a decent size, about a quarter mile in diameter, and encircled by a few feet of sandy beach. A large wooden dock jutted out from the shore, with several boats attached to the pilings. There were a few species of fish in the lake that were similar to bass and trout, and even one that almost looked like a catfish. The other lakes and rivers were further out from the center of the village. There were a few small lakes that were designated for bathing and a river that was for laundry.

It was mid-summer, and even though the days were hot, the nights were pleasantly cool. The Athosians had set the team up in a cluster of empty huts on the east side of the village There they unloaded whatever supplies they had in the jumper. Even though the jumper was in poor shape, there was enough power to keep it cloaked for a few days, in case anyone came through the gate. Rodney and Radek had left most of their tools there but brought along some damaged control crystals to see if they could be repaired. 

Once John's team had settled into the village, a feast was served in honor of the Athosians and Atlantean's continued alliance against the Wraith. The team sat around a fire eating stew and tried to recoup their strength from the harrowing day. With everyone fed and refreshed, and Cadman's burn tended to with some herbal remedies, the group relaxed around the fire and let the last of the adrenaline seep out of their system.

“So,” Rodney said, as John sat next to him on a log. “What’s our plan of action, oh fearless leader.”

“You and Radek try to fix the jumper, while we wait to see if they send the Daedalus for us.”

“ **That’s** your great plan?” Rodney snapped.

“You got something better?” John challenged.

Rodney held up a finger and opened his mouth. Then he closed it before opening it again and shaking his head apologetically. “No.”

Teyla and Ronon shared a fond look at their friends’ banter. “I believe Colonel Sheppard’s plan is our best option,” Teyla said. “At least for now.”

“So, while Zelenka and I are working our tails off, what are the rest of you going to do?” Rodney grumbled.

“I was thinking about maybe getting some surfing in,” John teased. “I’m sure I can make a board out of one of these trees.”

Lorne snorted. “Too bad I didn’t bring my paints and a canvas. It would be a shame to waste a view like that,” he said, gesturing towards the sunset.

“I could use a little sun,” Laura chimed in.

“What is this, a vacation resort? We’re trapped on New Athos for who knows how long! Doesn’t this concern any of you?”

“Lighten up Rodney. I bet the Daedalus will be here before you know it. I’m sure it won’t take you two that long to fix the jumper, with you guys being geniuses and all. Why not enjoy a little downtime while we’re here?” John suggested.

Rodney preened a little at the compliment. “Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Also, until we can repair the DHD, is there a way to prevent people from dialing in? I don’t want anyone getting accidentally stranded here,” John said. “Plus, then we wouldn’t have to use up any more power keeping the jumper cloaked.”

Rodney thought about it for a minute. “The only way to do that is to place a large obstruction inside the Stargate’s ring. That would prevent the wormhole from forming.”

“Would wood be a sufficient material?” Teyla asked.

“As long as we can cut it to fit inside the ring, yes.”

“I will ask Halling to help with the construction on it immediately.”

“Great,” John said. “That’s one less thing we have to worry about.”

“It is too bad we are not stranded in the Milky Way,” Radek said.

“Why’s that?” John asked.

“Because then we could dial the gate manually,” Radek replied.

“The gates can be dialed manually?”

“The Milky Way ones can. Think of them like a rotary phone, while the Pegasus version is an upgrade to a touch tone phone,” Rodney explained.

“Huh.” John looked thoughtful for a second and then shook his head. “Well, I’m sure you guys will figure out something.”

***

General Landry stood in the control room looming over the console. “Ready, sir?” Sergeant Harriman asked.

“Yes, Walter. Dial it up.”

“Yes, sir.” The gate whooshed to life and the MALP slowly made its way up the ramp and across the event horizon. The video feed went online and the two men stared at the screen, which was only showing dark, murky images.

“Tell me what I’m looking at here,” Landry said.

Harriman tapped a few keys and a light on the MALP turned on. “It looks like we’re underwater, sir.”

***

Elizabeth paced outside the General’s office, waiting for him to finish up his phone call with the president. Five minutes went by and the door opened. “General Landry,” she said, nodding in greeting.

“Dr. Weir, come in.” He held the door open for her as she entered his office.

“When does the Daedalus leave for the Pegasus galaxy?” she asked eagerly.

“It doesn’t,” he replied, taking his seat.

“What? Elizabeth stared at him in shock. “But Colonel Sheppard . . .”

“I understand your concerns Dr. Weir, but I just can’t spare the personnel right now on a mission for people in another galaxy.” 

_Who might not be alive_ , were the words she knew he left unspoken. “We have to try,” Elizabeth urged.

“What’s left of Atlantis is on the ocean floor and we have no idea what would be waiting for us when we arrived. The Replicators could still be there.” Landry leaned forward, hands folded on his desk.

“General . . .”

“Look, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re at **war** here and the Ori ships outnumber ours. Now that the Prometheus has been destroyed, we need another ship on the front line. The Daedalus will be deployed tomorrow.”

“What about sending a puddle jumper though the gate bridge?”

“I’d consider it,” he said, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance, “but the only jumper we had was the one that Colonel Sheppard commandeered when you went on your little unauthorized rescue mission.”

“Our little **unauthorized** rescue mission saved General O’Neill, Woosley AND Atlantis,” Elizabeth argued.

“And it very well could have gotten you all killed. I’m sorry Dr. Weir, but the president feels the risks outweigh the benefits. You of all people should understand that.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Oh, I understand,” she replied, standing from her seat. “Good day, General.”

***

Caldwell walked over to the table where Elizabeth was sitting. “May I join you?” he asked.

“Sure,” she answered, pushing the food around on her plate.

He set his tray down across from her. “I understand you asked General Landry to mount a rescue.”

She looked up at him. “Yes, and I was not happy with his answer.

“I know how close you were with them . . .” he started.

Elizabeth held up a hand and closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them. “Colonel, I thought we don’t leave men behind.”

Caldwell crossed his arms and frowned at her. “We don’t even know if they survived. Look, I’m sorry Elizabeth. It’s out of my hands.”

***

For the next week, Sheppard and Lorne took turns helping the scientists with the jumper repairs. Evan sat on the ramp of the jumper, arms folded over his knees, rolling his head on his forearms. McKay and Zelenka were playing a game of Prime, Not Prime.

“27551,” Radek said.

Rodney rolled his eyes. “That’s easy. Prime.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “35613.”

Zelenka smiled smugly. “Not Prime. 71357”

“Not Prime.”

“Don’t you guys do anything else for fun?” Lorne asked.

“There is chess,” Radek replied.

“And video games,” Rodney added. “Not that we could play either of those right now.”

“No, I mean something active. Like sports?” The two men looked at him blankly. “Oh, nevermind.” He shook his head.

Rodney turned back to Radek. “101489,” he said with a triumphant smile already crossing his lips.

“Prime,” Sheppard answered, strolling up the ramp of the jumper.

Rodney spun around. “How did you . . .? You know what, forget it. I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore.”

John flashed a dopey grin and patted Lorne on the shoulder. “Relieved of duty, soldier,” he joked, offering him a hand.

“Thank god,” Evan groaned. “Another minute with these two and I might have started wearing a pocket protector.”

“Oh, very funny, Major,” Rodney remarked. “I’ll have you know . . .”

“Easy, Rodney,” John interrupted.

Rodney grumbled under his breath but returned to his work. Sheppard followed Lorne down the ramp. “Give the guys a break, will ya? They’re working pretty hard.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just bored and frustrated, I guess.”

John clapped him on the shoulder. “Yeah, we all are. Go get some rest.”

***

Later that evening, Evan joined Ronon, Radek and Laura at the campfire. He ladled some stew into his bowl and settled down on the ground, leaning against a log. The four ate quietly, all seemingly absorbed in thought. The stories of an Athosian hunter drifted over from an adjacent campfire. Teyla wandered over a short while later with a pot of tea that she hung over the fire to warm.

With the silence stretching on, Evan grew restless. “So,” he said, turning to Ronon. “What did you use to do for fun back on Sateda?”

“Sports, drinking, hunting,” he replied, glaring at Zelenka.

“I cannot believe you are still upset about that,” Radek huffed. “You have plenty of time to hunt now.”

“What kind of sports?” Lorne asked, trying to distract him.

Ronon gave him an amused grinned. “I’ll show you after dinner.”

***

When John and Rodney arrived at the campsite it was empty. “Huh,” John mused. “I wonder where everybody went.” He tapped his headset. “Teyla? Ronon? You guys okay?”

“We are well, John. Ronon is showing us some traditional Satedan sports. Will you come and join us? We are just east of the fields.” Teyla replied.

“Rodney and I are just gonna grab something eat. We’ll see you in a bit.”

After feasting on a helping of the hearty meat stew, John stretched his legs out and crossed his hands behind his head. Rodney finished scooping the remains of his meal with a satisfied sigh. “That was pretty good.”

“It was okay,” Sheppard drawled, “but what I wouldn’t give for some turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes.”

“Or coffee,” Rodney sighed.

“Coffee,” John agreed.

“So, shall we?” Rodney asked, getting up from the log.

“Sure.” John rolled up to his knees. 

Rodney’s breath hitched, and he had to turn around quickly to avoid embarrassing himself. God, how many times did he masturbate to that image?

“Something wrong, Rodney?”

“No,” Rodney squeaked. “Just, um, taking in the view.”

“Uh-huh.”

They chatted idly on their way to the clearing. Laura, Teyla and Radek were seated off to the side watching, while Evan hopped on his left foot. His left arm was behind his back and he carried a branch in the other. Ronon stood opposite him, calm and balanced as he waited for the major to steady himself.

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Ronon advanced, slamming his shoulder into Lorne and spinning him off-balance. He spun and smacked Lorne’s back with the stick, grabbing to bit of fabric that was hanging out the back of his pants. Lorne stumbled and brought both hands out to brace his fall, rolling off to the side and gracefully up to his feet. Ronon stuck out his hand. “Good job.”

“Let me have a shot,” John said.

Ronon flashed an impish smile at him. “Sure thing, Sheppard.”

Evan handed John the stick and rag, muttering “good luck,” as he took his seat.

Rodney joined the observers, laying his jacket on the ground beneath him. “Sheppard’s nuts,” he remarked, seeing the manic smile on his friend’s face.

“They’re just having a little fun,” Laura said, elbowing Rodney’s arm.

“Ow,” Rodney complained, rubbing the sore spot. “If I wanted to get injured, I’d go play with Chewbacca over there.”

Laura rolled her eyes.

A small crowd of Athosians had begun to form, with Jinto and Wex in front, jumping up and down excitedly.

“So,” John asked as he twirled his stick, “how do we play?”

“You try to take the cloth from your opponent,” Ronon explained, tucking the small scrap of fabric into the back of his pants.

“Sure, got it. Any other rules I should know?”

“Nope. Anything goes.”

“Right,” John drawled. “Let’s do this.”

They circled around each other slowly, studying each other’s’ movement. Ronon swung first, and John stopped them easily as they exchanged a series of four blows. The Satedan feigned left and then lunged to the right as Sheppard tried to block the shot. His shoulder slammed into John’s chest, knocking him off kilter. He spun to the side and deftly grabbed the rag out of John’s pants. “I win that round. On to round two,” he said, placing his left hand behind his back.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sheppard groaned, snatching his flag from Ronon and tucking it into his pants.

“The difficulty increases with each round to simulate battle and the possibility of injury.”

“Can’t I get better at round one first?”

Ronon stared at him, waiting for John to mimic his pose.

John sighed. “Fine, whatever.” He folded his arm behind his back and held his weapon in front of him.

This time when Ronon lunged, John was ready for him, stepping back and turning to one side. But Ronon was faster, spiraling back in time to crack John’s lower back. John stumbled forward, but not before Ronon was able to seize his flag for the second time.

“Okay, that sucked,” John grumbled.

“That’s what you get for playing barbaric sports,” Rodney called out.

John gave him the finger.

“Two for me,” Ronon said, smiling.

“Great,” Sheppard muttered.

“Come on. This is easy. I haven’t even broken a sweat,” he declared, clapping John on the back. “Ready for round three?” Ronon got into position, with his left arm behind his back and lifting his right foot to rest against the side of his left knee.

“Oh, I’m so not doing this,” John groaned, reaching behind to unsuccessfully rub his back.

Ronon shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Teyla rose from her seat on the grass. “May I try?”

“Sure,” Ronon replied.

John sat next to Rodney, wincing as he settled on the ground.

“Come here, you idiot,” Rodney snapped.

John gave a feeble protest, the thought of Rodney touching him sending shivers up his spine. Rodney moved behind him, legs bracketing John’s hips. His hands slid under John’s shirt causing John to hiss more in pleasure than pain.

“Sorry,” Rodney muttered, his breath ghosting over John’s neck.

“S’okay,” John whimpered. Rodney’s hands felt amazing sweeping up his back in broad strokes and working their way down, thumbs digging into sore muscles. “Feels good.” He sighed happily as he watched Teyla take a shot at Ronon’s “game”.

Teyla stood facing Ronon, looking serene and focused.

“Ready?” Ronon asked.

“Of course.” She bowed gracefully before getting into a fighting stance.

The loud crack of their sticks meeting echoed through the fields. They exchanged several strikes, Teyla easily keeping up with Ronon’s pace. He swung at her head and she ducked, smacking him in the leg on her way down. Ronon jumped backward and thrust again, making contact with her shoulder. Springing forward, their weapons collided, and he used his weight to make Teyla retreat. She sidestepped, sending him off-balance, causing him to tumble to his knees. Before he could roll over, Teyla swiftly bent down to pluck the cloth from the back of his pants.

“Well done,” Cadman cheered.

“Beginner’s luck,” John mumbled.

“Now, now. Don’t be a sore loser,” Rodney whispered in his ear.

As they watched the second round, John became aware that pressure from Rodney’s hands had turned into gentle caresses, as he traced the lines and muscles of John’s back. Rodney probably wasn’t even aware he was doing it; he was so focused on watching Teyla kick Ronon’s ass. John shifted further back, leaning into the touch, enjoying it while he could.

The game ended with Ronon winning the second round and Teyla winning the third. She held out her hand, helping Ronon to his feet. “You are indeed a worthy opponent,” she said, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

“That was actually pretty fun to watch,” Rodney said, his chest pressing into John’s back as he hooked his chin over John’s shoulder. “Not that I would want to play or anything.”

John wanted nothing more than to turn in Rodney’s arms, push him onto the ground and rut along his thigh until they both came in their pants, but Lorne was already giving him funny looks, so he decided against it. “Rodney,” he grit out.

Finally realizing what he was doing, Rodney backed off and separated himself from John. “Oh, sorry.”

John stood awkwardly, turning away from the group to surreptitiously adjust himself. How long were they going to go on like this, playing this stupid game of avoidance? They both felt the attraction; he could see if written clear as day on Rodney’s face. Was it only the military’s archaic rules that made them hesitant? John was never one for following the rules and after three years, he’d had enough. He was sure he could summon the courage to make the first move. Maybe. Okay, he was terrified, but that didn’t negate the fact that he wanted Rodney more than he could ever remember wanting anyone. 

A crowd of children surrounded Teyla and Ronon, all asking questions about how to play the new game. Evan joined John as he headed back to his hut. “I’ll take the first scientist babysitting shift tomorrow,” he joked.

“It’s not so bad,” John said. “I mean, it could be worse. At least we’re safe for now.”

“That’s true, and hopefully Zelenka and McKay can get the DHD working again soon.” They continued toward the huts in silence, until finally Lorne couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “So, McKay, huh?”

John kept his expression neutral and shrugged.

Evan grinned. “Well, I guess there’s someone for everyone.”

John couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing, a braying honk that lightened the tightness in his chest. The laugh was infectious, and the two of them stood there laughing for a good five minutes until there were tears in their eyes.

“What’s gotten into you two?” Rodney asked as he caught up to them, which just set off another fit of laughter.

***

“Ronon,” Laura called.

“Yeah?” Ronon stopped cleaning his weapon and walked over to where Laura was sitting.

“Help me up, please. I want to try walking.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“If I keep sitting here, I’m going to go nuts,” she replied. “I need to move around. You can take me on a tour of the village. I’ve never been here before.”

“Sure,” Ronon said. He wrapped his arm around her waist and supported her as she got up from the log. Letting her put her weight on his shoulder, they slowly made their way toward the dock.

“Wow,” she remarked taking in the sun glittering over the lake. “If it wasn’t for the pain in my leg and the fact that we’re trapped here, I might think we were on leave.”

“Is this the kind of place you would visit back on Earth?”

“When I was still in school my parents used to take me camping and hiking in a place very much like this.” With Ronon’s help, Laura sat down on a large rock near the shore. “When I was away fighting in the Gulf War, my dad was injured in a hunting accident. His knee was shattered by a ricocheting bullet and he hasn’t been hunting since.” She reached down and grabbed a handful of stones, and one by one skipped them across the water.

“It sounds like you’re very close to your father,” Ronon said.

“I am. My parents are great. Being an only child, they really made an effort to make sure I was happy.” Laura continued skipping rocks across the lake. “What was it like growing up on Sateda?”

Ronon looked down at his hands while he fidgeted with some reeds he plucked. “Before the Wraith came, our world had developed what we thought was some pretty innovative technology. It had been hundreds of years since a culling, and through our own ingenuity and trading with other cultures, Sateda has made great advances in weaponry and medicine. Even though every Satedan was expected to learn how to fight, we still had time to enjoy our passions, like art and music. The tallest of our buildings rose into the heavens as our cities continued to prosper.” Ronon stopped talking and looked at the knotted mess of reeds in his hands.

Laura leaned her head on Ronon’s shoulder. “The pain of loss is always greater than the joy of victory. That’s why you have to make each moment count.”

***

Evan tried to be more pleasant his next shift on jumper duty, helping run diagnostics from the pilot’s seat. Rodney was still driving him crazy and they argued constantly. Zelenka egged them both on, making the appropriate observations and comments. Radek was actually a good guy, Evan thought, definitely easier to get along with than McKay. He was smart and witty and generally fun to hang out with. Lost in thought, Evan didn’t hear McKay’s question and the scientist became irate.

“What are you, deaf? A trained monkey would be more attentive than you! Seriously, is it so much to ask that you pay attention when we’re working?”

Evan stood from the jumper seat and got into McKay’s face. “I’ve had just about enough of you,” he growled. “I’ve been nothing but helpful today, and you continue to insult me. I have half a mind to . . .” He raised his fist, taking satisfaction from McKay’s reflexive flinch, before spinning around and storming out of the jumper to calm down. A warm hand on his arm broke through the haze of frustration. 

“Do not let Rodney get to you,” Radek said softly. “He can be abrasive, but he is really a good guy.”

“He’s just so damn infuriating.”

“I know,” Radek agreed. “Sometimes I would like to punch him too.”

Lorne looked to see Radek grinning and he gave Zelenka a matching smile.

“Shall we get back to work?”

“Lead the way,” Evan replied with a sigh.

Evan spent the rest of the afternoon in the back with Radek, asking him questions about the tests they were running and joking around. “So, McKay is in the back of the jumper flailing around and screaming about a being attacked by a bee,” he whispered. “Turns out it was just a pine needle stuck in his jacket. He can be such a hypochondriac.”

Radek chuckled. “Do not let him hear you say that. You are already on his bad side.”

Evan snickered a little too loudly.

Rodney’s head snapped up and he glared at them over his shoulder. “What is this, high school? Get back to work.”

“Yes, Rodney,” Radek replied. “We all bow down to your superior work ethic.”

Evan bit his lip to contain his laughter until a grin broke through. Radek was a lot of fun to hang out with, especially when it came to teasing Rodney. Evan studied him as they got back to work. Radek hadn’t shaved since they arrived on New Athos, and the short beard almost made him look a little rugged. It hadn’t escaped Evan’s notice that Radek was handsome, with striking blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled.

Radek glanced up from his tablet and looked at Evan curiously. “Is everything alright, Major?”

“What? Yeah, sorry, I was just spacing out.”

“Maybe you have just spent too much time cooped up in this jumper with Rodney,” Radek said with a mischievous smile.

Evan chuckled. “Probably.”

 

***

Sheppard strolled up the ramp of the jumper, nodding to Lorne, jerking his head to the exit. Happy to be relieved of duty, Lorne hurried back to camp. John crept up behind Rodney, who was examining some crystals. “Whacha doing?” he said, breath ghosting along Rodney’s neck.

Rodney jumped and spun around. “Jesus Sheppard,” he exclaimed, “give a guy some warning, will ya.”

John grinned. “But it’s so much fun.” Rodney shoved past him, walking into the cockpit. “Where’s Zelenka?”

“I don’t know. He grumbled something about even scientists needing to eat.”

“Well they kinda do,” John said, following Rodney. “Wanna get some dinner?”

“I ate an energy bar; I’ll be fine,” he said distractedly.

“Rodney,” Sheppard said, “you need to eat more than energy bars. At least have a little something, Lorne’s cooking tonight.” He slung and arm around Rodney’s shoulder, which got him an acquiescing sigh, so he steered Rodney down the ramp and back to camp.

 

***

Time went by slowly, the group growing restless with days filled by helping the Athosians with chores and working on the DHD. Evenings were spent relaxing by the fire, eating and chatting, with the occasional game of capture the flag, which left Sheppard and Lorne sore for days. By the fourth week, they started to get nervous.

“They should have been here by now,” Rodney griped, chewing on some dried meat.

“Maybe they left late,” Sheppard suggested, throwing another log on the fire.

“Or maybe they think we’re dead and they’re not coming,” Rodney snapped.

“Rodney, relax. We’ll think of something.”

“And by ‘we’ you mean ‘me’.”

John nudged him playfully with his shoulder.

Radek joined them, carrying a bowl of nuts and dried berries.

“Great, just great,” Rodney moaned. “The greatest mind in the galaxy wasted while they leave me here to rot.”

John and Radek shared an amused look, rolling their eyes. 

“Isn’t there any way to dial the gate? Like the way they dialed phones in that movie, Hackers?” Sheppard asked.

“Colonel, that movie is ridiculous,” Rodney countered. “How do you expect me to phreak a stargate?” He turned and locked eyes with Radek.

“We could try . . .” Radek said.

“Yes, yes.” Rodney’s hands waved wildly. “If we could hookup . . .”

“Exactly.”

John looked between the two men both amused and frightened of their telepathic-like ability to communicate. “Sometimes you guys seriously creep me out.”

***

John was homesick. He had never been homesick before; he was used to running away from things, not staying in one place for too long. He went where the Air Force sent him, happy for a change of scenery away from the memories of his father, his marriage, Afghanistan. The truth was, Atlantis had become the home John wasn’t looking for, like no place had ever been. He lounged on the bench of the jumper reading War and Peace to distract himself from letting his thoughts wind him up, but soon grew uninterested. He stood up and walked over to where Rodney was working, leaning into his space. “Hey.”

Rodney jumped, hissing as sparks singed his fingers while removing a burnt-out control crystal. “Fuck. Colonel, is there something you need?”

“Nope. Just bored.”

Rodney placed the crystal on a nearby bench and spun around, glaring at Sheppard. “Well, I’m sorry if there isn’t anything dangerous for you to shoot or any ascended women for you to sleep with,” he snapped.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” John pressed further into Rodney’s personal space.

Rodney pushed past him and opened a panel to test some more crystals. “It means, go bother someone else, Sheppard,” he replied, not bothering to turn around.

“You know Rodney; you have a really bad attitude.”

“Well, maybe if I didn’t have annoying Colonels constantly up my ass, I’d be a little more pleasant,” Rodney retorted.

“Well, maybe if you’d hurry up and fix the DHD, I’d be able to get us out of here,” Sheppard countered.

Rodney whirled around. “You son of a bitch,” he snarled advancing on Sheppard. “You don’t think I’m working as fast as I can?” He poked Sheppard in the chest. “I’d like to see you do it.”

John retreated until his back hit the wall; Rodney just inches from his face, finger still jabbing at his chest. Anger and frustration welled up inside John and came crashing down. His guilt for stranding his friends, the loss of his city, his feelings for Rodney all overwhelmed him. His barriers crumbled, eroded by the stress and loss of control. He grabbed Rodney by the shoulders and spun him around, slamming him up against the jumper wall.

“What the hell?” Rodney shrieked. “Sheppard . . .” The rest of Rodney’s words were lost as Sheppard’s lips pressed against his. Rodney stood frozen, eyes wide and wild, unsure of how to react. After a long moment of indecision, he parted his lips, welcoming John’s tongue as his hands settled on John’s waist.

John kissed hungrily; licking into Rodney’s mouth. Rodney tasted like power bars and the caffeinated drink the Athosians brewed. He sucked on Rodney’s lower lip and moved down to nip at his jaw. Rodney smelled like long nights working in the jumper, reminding John of home. His chest tightened at the surge of affection he felt; desire swept through him settling low in his gut. 

Rodney moaned softly as John trailed kisses along his throat and slid the hem of his t-shirt up to get his hands on the soft skin underneath. He felt warm hands on his face as Rodney pulled him back into the kiss. Rodney’s kisses were intense and focused, much like he was with his work. John felt dizzy as he came up for air, panting against Rodney’s cheek. “Rodney,” he whispered before diving in for another kiss.

The slow slide of tongue, the taste of John’s mouth, the jut of his hip; Rodney memorized it all with lips and fingers. The press of John’s thigh between his legs sent a jolt of electricity through his body. Rodney moaned, grinding down to get the pressure he desperately needed. He felt a John’s erection digging into his thigh as they rutted together. “John,” he panted.

John groaned as Rodney’s hands slipped down to cup his ass, forcing them closer, giving him more of that delicious friction. He tilted his head back allowing Rodney to mouth the hollow of his throat. His climax was building slowly, infusing his body with pleasure. John latched onto the juncture of Rodney’s neck and shoulder, sucking until there was a mouth-shaped bruise.

A metallic clatter pulled them from their lusty haze, and their heads snapped up. Radek was standing in the doorway, eyes wide in shock. He stood frozen for a long moment before he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I . . . I think I hear Major Lorne calling me,” he stuttered. “Yes, I distinctly hear him calling. I must go,” he said and quickly fled the jumper.

The moment was ruined. John smacked his forehead on the jumper wall a few times in frustration. “Great, just great,” he muttered. “See what you made me do?”

“What?” Rodney sputtered. “Do I need to remind you that YOU kissed ME?” He shoved John away, glaring at him through narrowed eyes, arms crossed defiantly over his chest.

“I didn’t see you complaining,” John retorted.

“That’s not the point. Anyway, it never should have happened in the first place.”

“Whatever,” John grumbled, storming out of the jumper.

Rodney watched him leave and sighed. “I don’t need this today,” he told himself.

***

John stomped into camp, but soon caught sight of Zelenka sitting on a nearby log having leftover stew. He turned tail, ready to flee.

“Colonel, wait,” Radek called.

John froze, and then slowly turned to face Radek, staring at a point over his shoulder. “What?” he huffed.

Radek stood from his seat and walked over to John. “I would never tell anyone,” he whispered. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Okay,” John said stiffly.

“You and Rodney are my friends. I would never betray you like that, especially not when it would put your career at stake.”

John’s expression softened and he finally met Radek’s eyes. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “Although, I’m not sure there’s much to tell. Rodney is the most infuriating man I’ve ever met.”

Radek let out a low chuckle. “Infuriating, yet you still like him.”

John scuffed his boot in the dirt. “Yeah, I guess so.”

***

The next morning Radek entered the jumper cautiously. Rodney was already there, grousing as he stabbed at his keyboard as he sat in the pilot’s seat. Radek cleared his throat and Rodney swiveled in his chair meeting his eyes.

“Not one word,” he warned wearily.

Radek suppressed a smirk. “I said nothing,” he replied. Rodney returned to his work while Radek went to the back of the jumper to test the remaining crystals. After ten minutes of awkward silence, he turned to Rodney. “We should be done today, yes?”

Rodney sighed and resigned himself to small talk. “Everything’s looking good on my end.”

“My laptop is plugged directly into the DHD outside.”

“Like always, they leave saving the day up to us,” Rodney griped, sounding more like his usual self.

Radek smiled and finished up his diagnostics. “I am ready.”

As they went outside a group of Athosians were finishing up carefully removing the large wooden blockade from the center of the Stargate. Once it was moved out of the way Radek loaded up a modified dialing program. The Stargate hummed to life. The laptop made a series of sounds that mimicked those of DHD for each chevron dialed. When the last sound was played the corresponding chevron lit up and a wormhole burst forth. The Athosians cheered.

Radek’s eyes lit up. “I believe we have done it.”

“Yes,” Rodney agreed. He was smiling brightly. “Okay, we’re due for a visit from the Levannans in three days. Let’s send them a message to make sure this worked before we send someone through. Let’s hope they respond before they’re due to send their traders through.” Rodney attached a note to a walkie-talkie and tossed it through the gate.

Sheppard strolled up as Rodney and Radek were completing their post-dialing diagnostics. He walked over and clapped Rodney on the shoulder, momentarily forgetting their predicament from the previous evening. “Good job, buddy.” His eye caught on the purplish bruise peeking above Rodney’s collar and he quickly pulled his hand away as if burned. 

***

The group gathered around the fire for their evening meal. John sighed happily, glancing around the circle at the ragtag bunch of people who had become like family. Lorne was a pretty good cook. He had a large pot of meat and vegetables simmering above the fire that smelled incredible.

After dinner John stood and got everyone’s attention. “Listen up guys, I wanted to let you all know that McKay and Zelenka have successfully been able to dial the gate.” The group began to clap and cheer. “Don’t get too excited. We’re still not sure if it was 100% successful.”

“Levannan traders are expected in a few days. We’ve sent word to them that the gate is malfunctioning and to contact us and wait for a response before coming through,” Rodney said. “If all goes well, we can at least have access to other planets.”

“Either way, it looks like we’re gonna be here longer than planned,” John continued. He frowned at Rodney who was rolling his eyes. “I really appreciate all you’ve done to contribute, so we’re not a burden on the Athosians.”

“My people are preparing for the harvest,” Teyla said. “Would anyone like to volunteer with me?"

Lorne raised his hand. “I could help. And it would be a change of pace from jumper duty.”

“Great,” John replied. “Tomorrow, Ronon and Laura are going out with the Athosian hunting party and I’ll help Rodney and Radek with testing the gate dialing before the Levannans arrive.”

***

The sun was barely above the horizon as John got dressed. He was thankful he had packed his running shoes with his gear during the evacuation. Slipping into his sneakers, he did a few stretches before heading out to the trail. Ronon and Cadman were waiting for him.

“What took you so long,” Ronon rumbled.

“Give him a break, Ronon. He’s probably still sore from yesterday,” Laura said.

“Hey,” John whined, pouting. “I won two rounds last night.”

“Out of five,” Ronon teased, elbowing John in the ribs.

“Let’s just go,” John huffed, and began jogging along the path.

Laura and Ronon shrugged at each other, sharing a fond smile. They caught up with John at the top of the hill and followed alongside the meandering stream that lead to the pond. Laura had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead by the time they reached and bent down to have a cool drink. She looked up and saw something that almost looked like a deer. “Ronon,” she whispered. “Come here.”

When Ronon joined her, Laura pointed across the water at a herd of deer-like animals. Ronon grinned at her. “Wanna start the hunt early?”

A loud crash scared the animals away and Ronon spun around to see where the offending noise had come from. Zelenka stumbled out of the forest, carrying more equipment than he could handle. He kept dropping parts and sighing in frustration. When he glanced up he caught Ronon’s glare. “What?”

“You scared away dinner,” he growled stalking forward.

“Please do not shoot me,” Radek pleaded, swallowing and staring up the eight inches in height that separated them.

“Nobody’s shooting anyone,” John broke in. “I’m sure Radek’s very sorry he scared away your deer . . . thing.”

Radek bobbled his head in agreement. “Yes, sorry. Very sorry. I would apologize all day, but I must go.” He scurried off, heading in the direction of the jumper.

“Easy there, buddy,” John said, trying to calm Ronon. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to catch something when you guys go hunting later.”

“Hey,” Cadman chimed in. “Aren’t you supposed to be some big, bad tracker? Can’t we just find the thing?”

Ronon circled around the pond, crouching where the animal once stood. He studied the ground by the pond, memorizing the animal’s hove-prints, his eyes tracking the trail that lead into the woods. “This way,” he announced.

“Cool,” Cadman chirped, joining the pursuit.

“I’ll see you guys later,” John called after them. “I’m on jumper duty this morning.”

When Laura caught up, Ronon was squatting next to a yellow bush. “See these markings,” he asked her, “how they’re flattened down and faded?” At Laura’s nod, he continued. “These are older tracks. Now this set over here,” he said, gesturing to the left of the bush, “has dirt kicked up. That’s probably our guy.”

“Also,” Cadman added, “these bushes have wild berries, so they must gather to eat somewhere nearby.” Ronon stared at her, obviously impressed. “What? I wasn’t just sitting around roasting marshmallows on those camping trips.”

“I’ve never had a marshmallow. I’ve only seen McKay and Sheppard drool while they talked about them.”

Laura chuckled softly. “Hopefully, one day I’ll be able to show you.”

The snap of a branch caught their attention. They both looked up and saw a large buck grazing on some grass. Ronon held a finger to his lips and he quietly removed his gun from the holster. He steadied the weapons, taking careful aim before squeezing the trigger. The blast hit the animal in the head and it dropped to the ground.

“Nice shot,” Cadman complimented.

“Thanks.” Ronon slung the deer around his shoulders and carried it off to camp.

***

Teyla stepped between rows of vegetables, picking the ripened produce and placing them in a large basket. They looked like what the people from Earth called corn, but John said they tasted much sweeter. She followed along the line, plucking the husks from the stalks until the basket was full. 

Kanaan was in the next row, kneeling in the dirt as he pulled plants that looked like carrots out of the ground. He was showing Evan how to tell if the vegetables were ready for harvesting and explaining what they taste like so that Evan could use them in tonight’s stew. The hot sun beat down on him, making him slick with sweat. He had already removed his t-shirt, using it swipe the dampness from his forehead. His back glistened with moisture, each movement of muscles causing the droplets to glitter like diamonds.

After a long day, they helped carry the baskets back to the village, depositing the bounty in the storehouse. Evan handed each basket to Teyla, who in turn passed them to Kanaan. With everything loaded onto a shelf they stepped out into the warm summer sun. Teyla and Kanaan’s eyes met and they shared a warm smile.

“There,” Evan said, dusting his hands on his pants. “Do you know where I can get more of those herbs I used for last night’s dinner? Halling said he was out.”

Teyla dragged her gaze away from the Kanaan’s dark eyes and turned to Evan. “Oh, um, yes.” She quickly regained her composure. “Yes, I can show your where the herb garden is located.” She led him to a small clearing at the edge of the camp. There were several different species of plants planted in neat rows. Evan examined each one in turn, breaking off leaves to taste. He collected a few different kinds for the evening meal.

“Are they to your liking?” Teyla asked.

“These are perfect.”

“I am glad to be able to help you.”

“I wonder if I could use some of these plants to make paint,” Evan said.

“How would you make them into paint?”

“I’ve never made it from scratch before, but you only really need three things to make paint,” Evan explained. “First you need color which I can get from flowers, berries, or even clay. Then I need something sticky, like animal fat or tree sap. After that, I would just add some water to make the paint flow better.”

“I am sure we can get enough fat from the deer Ronon and Laura caught this morning. Are there any particular plants you would like? I could help you collect them,” Teyla offered.

Evan looked around and pointed to a field of wildflowers in the distance. “We have a lot of berries and spices, but you could help me collect some of those flowers.”

They walked together into the vast field filled with hundreds of flowers in all the colors of the rainbow. Teyla held the basket as Evan picked several of each type until the basket was overflowing with color. With the sun high overhead, they strolled leisurely back to the village, stopping to gather some beautifully pigmented clay that caught Evan’s eye.

“I really appreciate all the help today,” Evan said when they reached Teyla’s hut.

“It was no trouble at all, Evan. The yearly art festival is coming up on Levanna. If we make contact with then, you might be able to trade for some of the materials you need.”

“That’s a great idea,” Evan said. “See you later at dinner.”

There was a flutter in Teyla’s stomach when she looked up and saw Kanaan watching her. He smiled shyly and waved. Teyla waved back. She thought about saying something, perhaps asking him to join her for a bit, but she had other chores that were waiting to be done. With the moment lost, Teyla walked to the center of the village to help the hunting party that returned. 

***

The deer was spitted on a branch and was slowing rotated over the open flame. After letting it sit for a few hours, Lorne filled a large pot with water and added in chunks of the meat along with the fresh vegetables they harvest earlier that morning. He inspected the different herbs they gathered, contemplating which would complement the stew. He settled on one that tasted similar to parsley and one that smelled like thyme. Satisfied, he covered the pot and left it to simmer over the fire.

That evening everyone showed up at the same time, eagerly anticipating dinner. They stood in line as Lorne distributed the stew into each of their bowls. “Teyla was a big help today,” he said.

“Just as long she didn’t do any of the cooking,” John muttered.

“I heard that, John and it is not funny.”

“Well, we’ve all tried your tuttleroot soup,” Rodney reminded her.

“It’s okay, Teyla,” John teased. “We like you anyway.”

Rodney settled next to Sheppard and sniffed at his food before bringing his spoon to his lips. “Holy crap, this is really good.”

“Gee thanks, Rodney,” Lorne drawled. “I’m glad I got **your** seal of approval.”

“I was giving you a compliment. Why do you have to be such a jerk about everything?”

“Coming from the biggest jerk in two galaxies,” Lorne retorted.

“Guys,” Sheppard interrupted. “For once, can’t we just all have a meal together in peace?”

“Sorry,” Lorne mumbled.

“Sorry,” Rodney muttered.

John shook his head at the pair. “See, was that so hard?”

***

Evan relaxed in a small boat not far from the main dock, fishing pole propped between his legs. The fish weren’t biting much today, but the sway of the boat was soothing after a long day in the fields. Evan pulled a pocketknife out of his boot and flicked it open. He picked up one of the several five-inch square blocks of wood he had brought with him and began to carve out a crude shape. He fiddled around with it a bit until it looked like the king from a chess set. Satisfied with his work, he began on the queen, and hoped it wouldn’t be too difficult to learn how to play.

***

John lounged on an enormous rock by the shore, soaking in the sun, letting it warm his skin. As he listened to the waves lapping gently on the beach, he let his mind wander to thoughts of Rodney. Things had been awkward between them since the incident in the jumper. He had let his guard down, deluded himself into thinking this was something he could have, when the truth was they would eventually be returning to Earth and he was bound by the rules of the military.

John had 20 years of active service. Maybe he could retire; put that math and engineering degree to good use. Rodney could get him in at Area 51. John had the ATA gene; he’d be useful there. Somehow, though, John didn’t think the SGC would go for that. He wasn’t popular with the brass, especially after their little stunt with stealing the jumper. He had the feeling that if he left, it would be for good. Things couldn’t possibly work out between him and Rodney; not on Earth.

John heard footsteps in the sand and turned to see Teyla walking towards him, fighting stick in hand. He rolled off the rock, onto his feet and bent over to retrieve his own stick.

“Good morning, John. Are you ready?”

John gave her an easy smile and rolled his shoulders. “Yup.” He got into position, knees slightly bowed, stick held steady. He blocked her first two blows, but the third one landed, cracking into his ribs. “Ow,” he said, rubbing the spot.

“You have not been practicing.”

John snorted. “Who am I going to spar with?”

“Ronon or Laura would be more than happy to work with you,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, well I’ve kinda been a little busy lately,” he said defensively. Teyla arched an eyebrow and John had the feeling that she didn’t believe him. They continued fighting, but John’s thoughts kept drifting to Rodney and how he was going to fix things between them. He missed a blow to his knee that he should have easily caught and landed hard on his ass in the sand.

Teyla offered a hand to pull him up. “Is something wrong John? You seem . . . distracted.”

John ran a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck and stared at the ground. “Yeah, I guess I am a little.”

“You know I am always here for you, to talk if you need to.”

He met her eyes. “You know I suck at this feelings stuff.”

“I understand that your culture discourages men talking about their emotions. Do not feel ashamed.” Teyla placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Please know that anything we discuss will remain between us.”

John stared at the ground again, as if the sand held the answers to his problems. “It’s just that Rodney and I are . . .” He paused, searching for the words to describe the situation.

“Attracted to each other?” Teyla helpfully supplied.

John’s head snapped up, a surprised look on his face. “Um, yeah. So, some stuff happened and now things are weird between us. I wanna fix this. I want . . .”

“A relationship?”

“No!” John said immediately. “Yes. I don’t know. I mean, once we get back to Earth, things will be different. We’d have to hide our relationship, because even if I wasn’t in the military, a lot of people would treat us differently.”

“I do not pretend to comprehend your society; your rules are strange to me. The Athosians do not judge people on who they fall in love with.”

“Whoa, who said anything about love?”

An amused smile played at Teyla’s lips. “Follow your heart, John. I am sure it will put you on the right path.” She bowed slightly, touching their foreheads together before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

John frowned as she picked her way across the sandy beach, back to camp. “Well, that wasn’t very helpful,” he muttered.

***

Teyla stood in the doorway of her hut watching Ronon and Kanaan play a game of capture the flag. Ronon was strong, handsome and kind, even if he was a little rough around the edges. He was the kind of man that Teyla would have pursued as a mate years ago, if she didn’t have so much responsibility. Over the past two years though, Ronon had become more like a brother to her.

Teyla’s gaze slid over to Kanaan’s more slender frame, with darkly tanned skin from years of working in the field. His muscles tensed as he hopped around to avoid Ronon’s takedown, but he wasn’t quite fast enough and was knocked backwards. As Kanaan rolled to his feet, he caught Teyla watching them and smiled. As she smiled back a warm flush spread through her body.

Teyla thought about the words she said to John; follow your heart. Her situation had changed. Even though she still considered herself the leader of the Athosians, her time away from them had given her a different perspective. Living with the people from Earth for so long had made her consider herself a part of them. Halling had stepped up to fill the leadership role since she’d been gone. Teyla felt like her burden had been somewhat lifted. Maybe it was time she followed her own advice.

Kanaan was hunched over, catching his breath and Ronon was laughing, his eyes shining brightly. He looked up, and Teyla smiled at him fondly. Ronon clapped Kanaan on the shoulder and told him something that Teyla couldn’t hear. The expression on Kanaan’s face suggested that it was something that Ronon considered encouraging. 

Ronon strode over to where Teyla was standing. “Hey,” he said nudging her shoulder.

“Did you have fun with Kanaan?”

“I think he’s getting the hang of it,” Ronon said with a grin. “He’s doing better than Sheppard.”

Teyla playfully elbowed him in the ribs. “You should not pick on John like that. He is not as young as he looks.”

Ronon shrugged. “He said not to go easy on him. Not my fault he can’t keep up.”

“He has been . . . distracted from his training. He is quite worried and has been working with Dr. McKay to make it possible to return to Earth.”

“It’s more like he’s been mooning over McKay. I wish those two would just have sex already and get it over with so they’ll stop ignoring each other.”

Teyla shot him a disapproving look. “Ronon!” she scolded. “You should not say such things. What is between Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay is none of our business. They will work it out in their own time.”

“Whatever. I just think that if you’re interested in someone, you should do something about it”, he replied.

“Like you and Laura?” Teyla teased.

“That’s different,” Ronon said defensively.

Teyla nodded and flashed a knowing smile.

“I’ll see you later?”

“You shall.”

Teyla walked into her hut and dropped down on her cot. That was awkward, she thought. She really didn’t understand why she was the one on her team designated to helping with relationship issues. It’s not like she fared any better in the romance department. Stretching out, Teyla got comfortable on the bed, hands behind her head, and stared at the ceiling until she fell asleep. She dreamt of dark eyes and glistening sweat dripping from strong, tanned shoulders.

***

Rodney was on his way to the jumper when John jogged up beside him. “Hey,” he said cheerfully.

Rodney eyed him suspiciously. “What do you want, Colonel?”

That stung. Now he was Colonel, when before he was John. “Come on, Rodney. Don’t be that way. Look, I’m sorry, okay.”

Rodney stopped walking and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at John. “What, so now I’m just supposed to forgive you for acting like a big jerk,” he snapped.

“Yes?”

Rodney continued glaring.

“What do you want, McKay? Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?”

Rodney’s lips quirked up into a smug smile. “That would be a good start, yes.”

John punched him in the shoulder, grinning like an idiot. “You are such an asshole sometimes.”

“And yet you continue to seek my presence.”

“Yeah well, call me a glutton for punishment,” John retorted. He stuck out his hand. “Still friends?”

Rodney clasped his hand, his smile turning warm and affectionate. “Still friends.”

“Cool. Now let’s go wait for the response from the Levannans.”

They walked to the gate while debating who was the best Catwoman in the original Batman TV series. When they arrived, Radek was already waiting there with the blockade removed from the gate. Halling stood with him, radio in hand as they anticipated the Levannans arrival. Lorne was heating up some food at a small campfire beside the jumper as a welcome for their guests.

The glyphs on the inner ring began to light up signaling the gate being dialed. When the seventh one was lit the wormhole opened. Everyone held their breath as they waited to see what happened next. Finally, a voice was heard over the radio.

“Hello? This is Colonel Laecat. Please respond if you can hear this message.”

“Oh, thank god,” Rodney muttered.

Halling held down the button on the radio. “Laecat, it is good to hear your voice, old friend.”

“Greetings, Halling. Is everything alright?”

“The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and now the gate is working again. We are looking forward to your visit.”

“That is good news, Halling. We shall see you momentarily.”

A minute later, five men stepped out of the wormhole. Laecat and Halling greeted each other jovially, touching foreheads for a moment. One of the other men carried a musket and the other three had large backpacks filled with items to trade.

Halling brought Laecat over to where the others were waiting. “Laecat, these are our friends from Atlantis. This is Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, and Dr. Zelenka. And that’s Major Lorne over there fixing us something to eat. He’s an excellent cook.” Lorne stood up and waved.

“I am pleased to meet you,” Laecat said and reached out a hand.

John shook it firmly. “Likewise.”

Trading with the Levannans went better than expected and they agreed to help find the parts they needed for repairs in exchange for McKay and Zelenka training some of their scientists in Atlantean technology. John was relieved that Rodney didn’t even complain. He was just as grateful as John was for the help.

***

As the evening cooled down, John, Rodney and Radek sat around the fire for dinner and discussed possible ways to contact Earth. Schematics were displayed on two tablets, showing diagnostics for different areas of the ship. There was also a list of the control crystals that needed replacing.

Rodney gestured with one hand while eating with the other. “All I'm saying,” he said between bites, “is that if we can get enough control crystals to repair the ship's basic communication systems we should be able to send a message through the gate bridge.”

“Yes, yes. I see what you are saying, but I think we should only send a data burst through. We may not be able to do more than that and the ship is already low on power,” Radek said.

“If we were able to get our hands on a ZPM, would that help?” John asked. “Then we could just dial Earth from here.”

Radek pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Atlantis’s DHD has an extra control-crystal in it that allows the dialing of the eighth chevron. It is the only DHD in the Pegasus galaxy capable of dialing Earth directly.”

“Okay,” John said. “So, if we can't dial Earth directly, how would the gate bridge help?”

“Remember when you were testing the gate bridge and you had to dial the Milky Way gate when you got to the middle?” Rodney asked.

“Yeah.”

“By reconfiguring my macro, we should be able to have the last Pegasus gate transfer the call, as it were, to the Milky Way gate.”

“I still think we should only send compressed data,” Radek said. “Or else we will use up all the jumper's power.”

“If we just send data, how will we know if they received the message?” John asked.

“We did not know that it worked when the Wraith were attacking, but we tried it anyway. It will be as you say, a 'hail-mary’,” Radek replied.

“Except, back then we didn't have the gate bridge,” Rodney said. “And, if this doesn't work, we'll be stuck here for good.”

John turned to Rodney. “So, if we try to send anything more than data the jumper will run out of power?”

“Possibly.”

“Definitely,” Radek argued.

“How much time will be get to speak to someone at the SGC?”

“I would say about fifteen minutes. That would be more than enough time to explain our situation and find out when they are coming to rescue us,” Rodney said smiling smugly. “It’s a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself.”

John clapped Rodney on the back. “No, I’d definitely have to agree with you on this one. You did good guys.”

Rodney’s smug smile morphed into a genuine one as he let the warmth from Sheppard’s hand seep into his skin.

***

“So, when are you guys going to start working on the communicator thingy?” John asked as he helped Rodney test the crystals in the back of the jumper.

“Thingy? Seriously, Sheppard, where did you learn English?” Rodney replied. “Sometimes I think Zelenka has a better grasp of the language than you.”

Radek snorted. “I think the Colonel is just not used to speaking in our, what do you call it, techno-babble.”

“Yeah, Rodney,” Sheppard retorted. “Not everyone can be the smartest man in two galaxies.”

“Why thank you.” Smiling, Rodney turned to John and then his lips fell into a frown when he saw Sheppard’s mischievous grin. “Oh, that was sarcasm. Ha, ha.”

“I thought it was funny,” Radek said.

“Anyway,” Rodney said, annoyed, “we can’t start working on the communication system until can get the parts we need.”

“Do you have any candidates for planets to search,” John said.

“I was thinking maybe M1M-316.”

John tilted his head to the side and tried to remember the planet. After a few minutes he asked, “is that the possible beta site where Stackhouse found dinosaurs?”

Rodney at least had the sense to look sheepish. “Um, yes.”

“I really don't think that's such a good idea, Rodney.”

“A few days before the Asuran showed up, Dr. Geisler was able to find evidence of an abandoned ancient outpost in the database,” Rodney explained. “Maybe we can salvage some of the control crystals there and it might also be a great option for scavenging for some of the other parts we need.”

***

Teyla sat in the back of the jumper watching Radek work. She held a flashlight steady on the panel he had open. Burnt out crystals were piled to the side of his workspace as he tested the empty slots to make sure they weren’t damaged.

“Could you move the light up a bit, Teyla?” he asked.

“Oh course, Radek.” Teyla watched him thoughtfully, studying the featured of his face. He was handsome, something she never had the time to notice on Atlantis. He wasn’t athletic like then men she was usually attracted to, but his eyes were a beautiful pale blue, and she liked the way they crinkled when he smiled. 

The laptop beeped and Radek tapped a few keys. “It must be nice spending so much time at home,” he said.

“I enjoy seeing my family and friends, but I felt like Atlantis was my home.”

Radek glanced up from the screen. “I did not mean to imply . . .”

Teyla smiled. “No, I understand. We can think of more than one place as home.”

Radek returned the smiled. “You lived on Atlantis for as long as I have, and I considered it home as well. Although, I do miss Earth from time to time, especially my brother and sister.”

“What was it like growing up on Earth?”

“I grew up in a country called Czechoslovakia. We lived in fear from a government that was very cruel and controlling. My family was very poor and our home had no electricity. My brother used to light candles all over and accidentally burned down the house. We had to stay in a tent during a particularly harsh winter.”

“That must have been hard on your family.”

Radek shrugged. “We managed. I am sure life was even tougher for you.”

“We tried not to live in fear, but it was difficult,” Teyla said. “We knew the Wraith would return, so we had to constantly move our camps.”

“I believe we have both had enough fear for more than a few lifetimes."

“Even though we grew up with different circumstances, I believe both of us are stronger because of what we have been through.”

“Well, you more so than me,” Radek said, closing his laptop. “Would you like to take a break and have some lunch?” 

“I would like that very much.”

***

M1M-316 was a humid jungle planet, densely forested with lush green plants and trees. John exited the wormhole and took up a position near the DHD a few feet away from the gate. Rodney, Ronon and Evan followed a few moments later and quietly crept into position. Luck was on their side, as there was no aggressive wildlife in the vicinity of the gate.

Rodney pulled out his scanner to check for energy signatures. “The scanner is showing something about a kilometer north of the gate.”

“There’s also a high concentration of creatures that way,” Evan said, looking at his life signs detector.

“Great,” John said. “Just what we needed.” He glanced at the life signs detector and then over at Rodney’s scanner. “Okay, we’re going to take it slow. Try to be a quiet as possible, so make sure your suppressors are on. We don’t want to attract any T-Rex’s with gunfire. Rodney, stay behind me. Ronon, you take our six.” 

Ronon withdrew his particle magnum out of its holster and set the gun to incinerate. “Got it.”

They made their way slowly and silently through the jungle, trying to avoid all the blips on the life signs detector until they made it to a large stone building. The door looked similar to those on Atlantis and Rodney waved his palm in front of a sensor to the right of it. The door slid open and the four men went inside. As the door closed behind them, the lights turned on to reveal a small lab. The equipment was covered in a thick layer of dust from disuse.

“What are we looking for?” John asked, as they wandered through the building.

“Pretty much anything,” Rodney answered. He studied his scanner, fiddling with the controls every few minutes. “Aha,” he said triumphantly. “This way.” Rodney pointed to his right, and they slowly rounded the corner into the next room.

Rodney got more and more excited as they approached the signal. “Bingo,” he said.

“What is it?” Lorne asked.

“We won’t know exactly what it is until I get it open, but it looks like something good,” Rodney said, rubbing his palms together. He popped open a panel in the wall to reveal rows and rows of crystals. “Oh, thank god,” he said reverently. “It’s about time we had some good luck.”

“Is that enough crystals to get the communication systems up and running?”

Rodney clapped John on the shoulder, grinning widely. “Most definitely.”

“Cool.”

Rodney loaded up is backpack with a total of 30 crystals and slung it over his shoulder. The group made their way out of the building, back outside. Evan held his hand up and signaled for the team to wait. He motioned for everyone to crouch, and then held up two fingers.

John peered over at the life signs detector. “Stay close,” he whispered. “We have two large dinosaurs on our right.”

Evan took the lead with the life signs detector and the others followed close behind. They slipped past the two dinosaurs, who were busy tearing apart the remains of some kind of large bird, and made their way to the gate. About 50 feet from the gate, Evan signaled for them to stop. He pushed some branches aside to reveal a huge T-Rex in the clearing behind the gate.

John pointed to Ronon and Evan, and then at the dinosaur. They nodded and skirted along the edge of the clearing until they were in position. When John gave the signal, Ronon and Evan began shooting at the T-Rex, trying to draw it away from the gate. John and Rodney made a dash for the DHD. Rodney started dialing as fast as he could. The sound of the wormhole caught the dinosaur’s attention and it whirled around toward it.

“Let’s go,” John yelled, grabbing Rodney by his vest and dragging his toward the gate.

The dinosaur lunged at them, narrowly missing Rodney’s head by inches. Ronon and Evan continued to shoot at the T-Rex as they made their way to the gate. John shoved Rodney through the wormhole, pausing for a moment to make sure Ronon and Evan where following behind him.

When they were safely on the other side and the wormhole closed, they all took a moment to catch their breath. “That was a close one,” Rodney said.

John took a minute to answer because of the tightness in his chest. He wanted grab Rodney and check him over, but instead he donned a causal smile and said, “Good job, guys.”

Teyla and Radek rushed out of the jumper. “Is everyone alright?” she asked.

“We all made it back in one piece,” John replied.

“We hit the jackpot,” Rodney announced, and dragged Radek back to the jumper while excitedly telling him of their finds.

 

***

Evan strolled up the ramp up the jumper peering inside. Radek was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his laptop attached to a small metal box. “Where’s McKay?” he asked.

“Laundry,” Radek replied absently. He put down the laptop, standing up to stretch. “What can I do for you, Major?”

“Nothing. I was just seeing how your project was going?”

“It is progressing at a good pace. McKay is confident we will have it finished by the end of the week.”

“So, I was wondering . . .” Evan started, staring down at his feet.

“Yes,” Radek prompted.

Evan lifted his chin and looked Radek in the eye. “Do you wanna have sex?”

“What?”

“Well, I mean . . .”

“Did you hit your head? Do you need to go to the village to see the healer?” Radek interrupted.

“I was just thinking that maybe we could help each other out,” Evan said defensively. “Ya know, a quick hand job between friends,” he added.

“Is každý ve vzduchu donutit jasných barev?” Radek muttered.

“No,” Evan answered. “Everyone in the Air Force is not gay.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “If you’re not interested, you can just say so.”

Radek’s mouth dropped open. “How did you . . ?”

Evan grinned smugly. “I spent a year abroad at the University of Prague studying art history,” he explained. Radek just sat there blinking at him. “My mother was an art teacher,” he continued, “so it seemed like a good major at the time. After a semester, I decided it wasn’t for me, so I switched to applied geophysics, which I finished at Berkeley.”

Radek stared at him, his brain still trying to catch up. “You speak Czech?”

“A little,” Evan said, modestly.

“Huh.” Radek studied the pilot for a moment. “You have a geophysics degree?”

“Yup,” Evan said proudly, hands on his hips.

“Huh,” Radek pondered and began fiddling with some control crystals.

“So?”

“Hmm?” Radek peeked over his glasses.

“Sex?” Evan asked hopefully.

Radek looked around nervously. “Now?”

Evan reached up to rub the back of his neck. “Well, it doesn’t have to be now,” he replied.

Radek thought for a minute, looking the major up and down. “No, now is good.”

***

“I’m back,” Rodney announced upon entering the jumper. He looked around to discover it was empty, and the tools were scattered about on the floor in the back. Rodney tapped his radio. “Radek?” There was no answer. “Where has he gone off to now?”

Stomping back to camp, Rodney prepared a rant for Radek about wandering away from important experiments. Sheppard was sitting by the fire, warming up some stew. “Have you seen Radek?”

“Can’t say I have,” Sheppard drawled. “Why?”

“Because he was supposed to be testing the crystals we brought back and he’s not answering his radio.”

“Jeez, Rodney. Maybe the poor guy is taking a break? He’s been working just as hard as you and deserves it.”

“Hmmph. fine, well I’ll just go bother him in his room.” Rodney stormed off muttering about lazy scientists.

John rolled his eyes. He seemed to do that a lot around Rodney

***

Radek fidgeted nervously in the dim light of his tent, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. Evan slowly stripped off his shirt and tossed it to the ground. Their eyes met and Radek could see the want in Evan’s gaze. He suddenly realized this was going to be much more than just a hand job between friends.

Evan stepped forward, his hands falling to Radek’s waist. He closed the distance between them, pressing soft kisses on Radek’s lips. Radek parted his lips and Evan took that as an invitation for more. The kiss deepened, but was still slow, unhurried. There was no need to rush things; no emergencies that needed their attention. There was just Evan and Radek and the hazy heat of summer.

Reaching out, Radek pulled Evan closer letting his hands explore smooth muscles. His fingers glided easily across sweat-slicked skin, sliding down to tease along the waistband of Evan’s pants. His touch elicited a deep groan that rumbled against his lips, a sound that brushed away all of Radek’s doubt and filled him a desire so strong, he needed more.

Radek dropped to his knees and fumbled with Evan’s belt, frantically trying to fill the need to touch and taste. There was no longer time for slow; Radek was fueled by Evan’s gasps as his hands brushed against Evan’s erection. He licked his lips before sliding them down the shaft, taking in as much as he could.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” Evan groaned, panting harshly. He gripped Radek’s shoulders, squeezing tight as though he was holding on for dear life. 

Radek was dizzy with lust, sucking Evan down to the rhythm of his frenzied breathing. He moaned around Evan’s cock and he could feel the vibrations of the muscles of Evan’s thighs. Radek took him in deeper, swallowing around the thickness in his throat.

“Radek, yeah, like that. Fuck.”

Hearing Evan moan his name with such intensity made Radek even more worked up. He quickened his pace, sucking fast and sloppy, while Evan continued swearing and moaning his name. He curled a hand around Evan’s cock, pumping hurriedly, using his tongue around the head.

Evan’s orgasm built up like a volcano until he came with a sharp jerk of his hips, releasing the pressure into Radek's mouth. Radek swallowed greedily and waited for the tremors to stop before letting go. Evan’s cock slipped out of his mouth with a lewd pop, and Radek wiped away the traces of come with his lips. Strong hands pulled him up by his shirt, and then they were kissing.

Evan’s tongue explored Radek’s mouth, chasing the taste of his own come. His orgasm was enough to take the edge off, but he wanted to get his hands on more of Radek’s skin. “Undress and get on the bed,” Evan growled. “I want you to fuck me.”

Radek’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. Evan fished a small jar out of the pocket of the pants pooled around his ankles and handed it to Radek. Radek unscrewed the lid and sniffed the contents, which didn’t really have a scent. Then he dipped his finger into the jar and rubbed the substance between his thumb and forefinger. It was slick like lube and glided easily across his skin. “Where did you get this?” he asked

“The Athosians make it,” Evan replied. “It’s just their equivalent of cornstarch and water. They use it as a paste for burns. I just watered it down enough for personal use.”

Radek raised an eyebrow.

Evan grinned and raised his right hand, wiggling his fingers. “I’ve had a little too much alone time.”

Radek chuckled. “I know how you feel.” He put the lid back on the jar and backed up toward the bed, beckoning Evan with each piece of clothing removed.

Loose and limber from orgasm, Evan strode across the room to join Radek. He sprawled out on the bed on his hands and knees, with his ass high in the air, and his face buried against his forearms. His whole body tensed with nervous excitement at the touch of Radek’s hand on his hip. It had been awhile since Evan let himself enjoy the company of another man.

Radek placed the small jar next to his knee and began tracing his fingers along Evan’s spine. His touch was gentle, almost reverent. “Krásná,” he whispered. His hands swept up and down Evan’s back, thumbs pressing into tight muscles.

When Evan’s body relaxed, Radek reached over and removed the lid from the jar again. Scooping up a generous amount of the lube onto his fingers, he slowly teased Evan open. Radek nudged Evan onto his back and kissed him deeply. He spread more lube on his fingers and gently pressed them inside. Each stroke had Evan moaning against his lips. 

“Please,” Evan begged.

“Shhh” Radek soothed. “We will get there.”

***

Rodney made his way to Radek’s hut and knocked on the door. “Radek, you’re supposed to be testing those control crystals,” he called out. There was no answer, so Rodney knocked again, and spoke louder. “Zelenka, are you in there?” 

“Busy,” Radek replied with ragged breath.

“What do you mean busy?” Rodney snapped and reached for the door handle.

“He means he’s busy,” Evan grunted.

“Oh,” Rodney said, realization dawning on him. “I’ll just come back another time then.” He returned to the center of camp and dropped onto the log next to John. Warming his hands by the fire, he sighed heavily and John raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, that is just not fair.”

“What’s not fair, Rodney?” John asked indulgently.

“Zelenka is getting more action than I am.”

John’s eyebrows jumped up to meet his hairline. “Zelenka . . .?”

Rodney frowned. “I was just traumatized by the knowledge that he was having sex with Lorne.”

John scrunched up his face. “Okay, I so did not need to know that.”

“Yeah, well, it still doesn’t negate the fact that Radek is having sex and I’m not.”

“And whose fault is that?” John countered.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said Mr. ‘it never should have happened in the first place’.”

“Oh, real mature, Sheppard.” Rodney rose from his seat and glared at John.

“You’re the one complaining that you can’t get laid, when here I am - ready and willing.” John stood and got in Rodney’s personal space.

Rodney took a step back, gaping at Sheppard, before fleeing to his hut.

***

John slowly counted backwards from ten to calm himself. He couldn’t believe the nerve of that man. Rodney had the gall to whine about not having sex, when John practically threw himself at him. He was pissed. This was going to stop right now. Rodney was interested; John knew he was, but he kept playing games. He stalked off to claim his scientist.

John burst through the door of Rodney’s hut and found him sitting on the bed.

“Sheppard,” Rodney growled, crossing the room to meet the soldier.

“No, Rodney,” John interrupted. “You listen to me.”

Rodney didn’t listen. Instead, he grabbed John’s head and pulled him in for a searing kiss, taking John’s breath away. When the kiss ended, they parted and stood starting at each other, panting harshly. For a full minute, neither of them moved. Then John surged forward, dragging Rodney in for another kiss, pouring all of his anger and frustration into it.

Rodney began backing towards the bed, hauling John along with him. John followed eagerly, chasing Rodney’s kisses as he removed his shirt. They tumbled onto the bed, wildly groping each other. John’s hands found Rodney’s ass, and he squeezed while grinding his erection into Rodney’s thigh. He sucked and nipped at Rodney’s throat and Rodney arched his neck to give John more access. “Rodney,” he breathed. “Rodney, please say you’re not going to stop.”

“Not stopping,” Rodney answered, hands sliding under John’s shirt.

“I wanna suck you,” John mumbled into Rodney’s throat, as he reached for the button of his pants.

“Oh, god,” Rodney moaned. “Yes, please.”

John popped the button open and slowly lowered the zipper. There was a knock at the door, and the whole thing came to a screeching halt. “Goddamn it,” he swore.

“Just a minute,” Rodney called out, his voice high-pitched and breathy. He looked at John apologetically as he scooted out from under him. He buttoned and zipped himself up, clearing his throat before answering the door.

Teyla stood on the other side, smiling brightly when Rodney opened the door. “Rodney, I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner.” A movement in the room caught her eye and she looked in its direction. “Oh, I did not realize you had company.” She took in John’s disheveled appearance, flushed cheeks and hair that was messier that usual, and arched an eyebrow at him.

Rodney glanced over his shoulder, gazing at John regretfully, the moment between them lost, and then turned back to Teyla. “We’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said, shooing her away. He closed the door and turned to John, who was sitting on the bed frowning. “John,” he started.

“What the hell was that?” John snapped.

“What did you want me to do?” Rodney hissed. “She’s already suspicious. Do you really want her to find out?”

“She already knows! She’s probably known longer than we have! But Teyla’s our friend. She would never betray us.”

“It’s not a question of betrayal. The fact is, she’s probably going to come to Earth for a little while and she doesn’t know the rules. She could slip and say something in front of the wrong person and you’d be screwed.”

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments and John sighed. “Let’s go eat,” he said.

***

Radek and Evan lay side by side, their sweat slicked bodies squished together on the narrow cot. Radek rolled onto his side, his head propped up on his hand and Evan smiled at him. “Do you not like women?” Radek asked.

Evan laughed. “I like women,” he replied. “I like men, too. My attraction is more based on personality than gender.”

“Oh,” Radek said, feeling warm inside. He smiled and leaned down to kiss Evan leisurely. “I like you too,” he said as they pulled apart.

Evan’s smile widened.

***

Even with all the excitement of trying to repair the communications systems in the jumper, the next week dragged by slowly. Rodney and Radek worked relentlessly, testing and replacing the communication control crystals, in between teaching a few classes for the Levannan scientists. In return for the classes, they were lucky enough to get glass that could be used to replace the cracked HUD screen.

“This sucks,” Ronon complained, as he dipped his shirt in the water.

“What, laundry?” Lorne asked.

“I’m bored. There’s nothing to do here.”

“Yeah, that flag game is getting kinda old,” Lorne agreed. “I actually miss going out on missions.”

“I miss killing Wraith.”

Lorne shot him an amused look. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

***

“Hey Dr. Z,” Laura said cheerfully, as she sat down with her lunch.

“Lieutenant Cadman, how are you feeling?”

“Please, call me Laura. I’m feeling great. Galen said I healed up nicely.”

“That is good to hear.” Radek smiled at her.

“So, whatcha doing?” she asked, peering over at his tablet.

“I am calculating the energy expenditures required for to send data through the gate bridge. The simulations are very promising. But I am afraid we will use up all of the jumper’s power,” Radek explained, his smile slipping into a frown.

“Yeah, but once the SGC knows we’re alive, they’ll send someone to rescue us, so we won’t need the jumper. Besides, isn’t this really the only chance we have of getting home?”

“True.”

Laura squeezed his forearm. “We’ll be okay. I have a feeling everything will work out fine.”

“I hope you are right.”

***

Ronon stripped off his clothing and left them on the embankment of the lake. Bar of soap in hand, he waded into the center of the water and began scrubbing off dirt and sweat. A splash from behind caught his attention and he whirled around to find Laura dunking her head under the water. As she stood, he took a moment to admire her pert breasts and slender waist.

Laura swam over to where Ronon was standing. “Hey, there, hot stuff,” she said.

Emboldened by her actions, Ronon reached out and touched her face, his thumb gently sweeping across her cheek bone. Laura turned up into his touch, stepping closer. Ronon could feel the heat of her body pressing against his in the cool water. “Laura,” he whispered, his hands falling to her hips as he bent down to kiss her.

“Finally,” she murmured against his lips.

***

Teyla and Evan walked down the aisle of tuttleroot carrying half-full baskets. Ronon and Laura were further back, their baskets discarded on the ground. They were smiling and laughing as they playfully chased each other up and down the field.

Evan wiped the sweat from his brow and turned around. “Come on guys. This isn’t play time.”

“Let them be,” Teyla said. “It’s been so long since Ronon was this happy.”

“They do make a cute couple,” Evan said.

“As do you and Dr. Zelenka,” Teyla replied.

Evan blushed. “McKay has a big mouth,” he said, but couldn’t hide his smile. “Besides, I wouldn’t exactly call us a couple.”

“Do you not have feelings for Radek?”

“I do,” Evan admitted, “we just never really discussed it.”

“Perhaps you should.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

***

A beep signaled the end of the diagnostics program’s calculations and Radek unplugged his tablet from the control panel. Evan watched him, totally focused and absorbed in his work. They had been spending a lot of time together lately and Evan wasn’t sure what that meant. He really liked Radek, but the thought of having a relationship with anyone in the situation they were in was a daunting idea. He was also worried about what would happen when they went back to Earth. Where would they end up? How often would they be able to see each other?

Evan squatted on the floor of the jumper and fished around in his backpack. He pulled out a wooden box that was painted with tan and brown squares. It was held together with wooden hinges and an intricately carved wooden clasp, then lacquered with beeswax. “Hey Radek.”

“Hmm?,” Radek said absently, his attention still focused on his work.

“I was wondering if you could teach me to play chess.”

“I could if I had chess set,” Radek replied. He finally looked up and saw the box in Evan’s hands. “Is that . . .? Where did you get that?”

Evan shrugged. “I made it.” He reached out offering the box to Radek.

Radek put down his laptop and stood to take the chess set. He ran his fingers across the smooth wood before opening the box. Inside was a complete set of pieces in two different colors to match the squares on the box. They were exquisitely carved, and also coated with the same smooth wax that protected the board. “You made this?” he asked. 

A faint blush stained Evan’s cheeks. “Well, I remember you saying that you missed playing.”

Radek closed the box and gently placed it on the console. He turned to Evan and pushed him up against the wall of the jumper, kissing him hungrily. “No one has ever done anything like that for me before,” he murmured between kisses.

Evan placed his hands on Radek’s hips and relaxed against the jumper wall, letting Radek take control. He moaned softly as Radek’s lips explored his jaw and neck, tongue and teeth leaving hot trails along Evan’s throat. Hot hands pushed at his shirt, searching for skin and Evan’s muscles quivered under Radek’s touch.

Radek nudged Evan until he took the hint and let himself be herded to the back of the jumper. They stripped along the way, leaving clothing strew across the floor of the jumper and Evan was so turned on that he barely had enough coherence to remember to think _close_ at the rear hatch of the jumper.

They tumbled naked onto one of the rear seat benches, kissing and rutting, sweating and moaning as their hands frantically groped each other’s bodies. “Chci tě,” Radek whispered in the hollow of Evan’s throat.

“Yeah,” Evan moaned, his body writhing under Radek’s, straining towards orgasm. “I want you too.”

“Later tonight, I will strip you down and fuck you with my tongue until you beg for my cock,” Radek continued.

“Oh my god.” Evan never imagined Radek could talk so dirty. The words spiraled around in his head, ratcheting up the tension in his groin until he felt the world drop out from under him. He came, sharp and sweet and startling, his vision going blurry.

Radek moved faster, the slickness between them easing the friction while he chased his orgasm. His head was plastered against Evan’s shoulder, breath hot and heavy on his chest. With a loud groan, he came against Evan’s stomach, pushing through their combined mess as he shuddered through it.

Sliding slightly to the side on the narrow bench seat, Radek rested his head on Evan’s shoulder. When their breathing evened out Evan let out a small laugh.

“What?” Radek asked.

“You have a dirty mouth,” Evan teased.

“I did not hear you complaining.”

“Definitely was not complaining.” 

For a few minutes they were silent, with only the sounds of their breathing. Evan kissed Radek on the forehead and heard a small, contented sigh. Encouraged by this, he gently ran his hand along Radek’s back with whisper-soft touches. Radek moaned softly and nuzzled against Evan’s side. Cuddling was a good sign. Evan took a deep breath. “So, are we a thing?” he asked.

“A thing?”

“Ya know, are we together?”

Radek shifted, leaning up on his elbow to look down at Evan. “You mean dating?”

Evan nervously glanced anywhere but Radek’s eyes. “Um, maybe?”

Radek tilted Evan’s faced so that their eyes met and kissed him tenderly. “Yes,” Radek said firmly. “We are.”

“Good . . . good.” Evan felt the worry drain from his body and he relaxed into Radek’s embrace. After a few minutes, he turned to face Radek. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry?”

“I could eat,” Radek replied. “Good sex will do that.”

Evan laughed. “Well, that was great sex, so no wonder I’m so hungry.”

They got dressed quickly and headed back to camp. Fall had arrived bringing cooler days and chilly nights. The leaves began to changes color, each tree a mixture of reds and yellows, and some had already dropped to the ground. They crunched underfoot as Evan and Radek wandered into camp. They collapsed on a log together in front of the fire and scooped some stew into their bowls. Evan wasn’t going to worry about what would happen when they returned to Earth; he would just enjoy what they had now.

***

Laura met with Teyla for some stretching exercises to help relieve the stiffness in her knee. They sat on the floor of Teyla’s tent, legs spread, hands clasped around the right foot, head almost touching the knee. The movement was repeated on the left leg and Laura could feel the burn in her hamstring. Teyla showed her some more complicated stretches, which Laura accomplished with varying degrees of flexibility.

“You’re really flexible,” Laura said as they finished.

“Kate and I took yoga classes three times a week.”

“Wow, I didn’t even know they had yoga classes on Atlantis.”

“We could continue these exercises each day if you would like.”

“I could definitely benefit from the increased flexibility,” Cadman said with a sly grin.

Teyla raised an eyebrow, her smile wide. “I’m sure Ronon would appreciate it,” she joked.

***

John held a flashlight over Rodney’s shoulder as he crawled under the seat in the rear of the jumper. There was an open panel with wires leading to a laptop on the floor where the jumper schematics where open on the desktop. Rodney glanced at the diagram before inserting the replacement control crystal into one of the empty slots. The laptop chirped and Rodney hit the enter key. He slid the panel back into place and scooted back out from under the bench.

John helped Rodney to his feet and they both turned to Radek, who was typing a series of commands into his tablet. His laptop beeped and he swiveled it to face Rodney. The results of the power consumption simulations were not promising, showing a 75% decrease in power if they attempted to keep the wormhole open long enough communicate verbally. Rodney frowned and grabbed the tablet from Radek, typed some more and then frowned again. He shoved the laptop back at Radek.

“Do you now see what I am saying, Rodney?”

“Fine Radek, we’ll try it your way. As much as I hate to admit it, you may be right.”

Radek smiled smugly. “What was that Rodney? I do not think I heard you correctly.”

Rodney scowled. “You heard me. Just remember, if we don’t hear back from the SGC in a few days we’re trying my way.” The chevrons lit up as the gate dialing program worked its magic. Using the modified gate bridge macro, Rodney uploaded a short message explaining the situation and where they were located. A progress bar appeared on the screen for a few moments, then with the message sent, the gate shut down. 

“Now what?” John asked.

Rodney put the laptop down on the seat. “Now we wait.”

***

Sirens wailed throughout the corridors of Stargate Command. “We have unscheduled off-world activation,” Walter announced as technicians scrambled into their seats.

The iris remained closed, but a file began to download on the terminal in front of Sargent Davis. “Receiving transmission,” she said. 

“Who’s it from?” Walter asked.

The system scanned the IDC that uploaded with the file. “It says it’s from Dr. McKay” 

***

“They’re alive?” Elizabeth sat down on the couch in General Landry’s office. A mixture of surprise and relief flooded her emotions and she had to blink rapidly to avoid letting the tears spill from her eyes. She smiled. “Of course, they’re alive. If anyone could survive the destruction of Atlantis, it would be John and Rodney. When are we mounting a rescue?”

Hank folded his hands on his desk. “It’s not that easy, Elizabeth.”

“We can’t just leave them there!”

“We’re not leaving them there. We just don’t have the available resources to send a retrieval unit at the moment. The best we can do is send some supplies and wait for the Daedalus to be repaired.”

“How long will that take?”

“The soonest would be 3 or 4 weeks,” Hank replied. “That’s taking into account that we can hold off the Ori during that time.”

“How will we get supplies to them?” Elizabeth asked.

“I can spare an F-302 for about an hour. They can take the gate bridge to the midway point and push the care package through the Pegasus gate before returning home. After that we’ll have to come up with a plan to send them weekly supplies.”

“That will have to do for now. Thank you, General.”

***

John woke up from napping on a bench in the back of the jumper for a few hours while waiting to hear back from the SGC. He turned on his side and tried to fall back asleep when he heard the gate firing up. He sat up quickly and rushed outside of the jumper.

Rodney waited by the gate, eyes wide with excitement. “I hope this is Earth,” he said.

A wormhole opened in front of them and a few moments later three crates tumbled through the gate. They were all marked _Property of USAF_. Attached to the top of one of the crates was a crowbar. John pulled the crowbar off the crate and began to open it. The inside was filled with Styrofoam packing peanuts. They both dug around looking for the contents.

John pulled a bag of coffee out of the box. Rodney’s eyes lit up and he grabbed the bag from John’s hands. “Oh, thank god,” he murmured reverently. After a moment of hugging the bag of coffee, Rodney reluctantly placed it on ground and continued pulling the contents out of the first box.

In the center of the box, carefully packaged in layered of bubble wrap, was a USB data stick. Rodney immediately plugged the stick into his laptop and opened up the file. He was greeted with Elizabeth’s warm smile.

“You have no idea how happy I am to know you’re alive,” she said. “And I’m looking forward to seeing you all soon. Unfortunately, due to the threat of the Ori, it may be some time before we can mount a rescue. The Daedalus has been severely damaged and it may take a month or longer to get it repaired, but I assure you, we will come for you. In the meantime, we’ve sent some supplies to help you along. General Landry asks that you send weekly status updates and we will keep you posted on the progress of the repairs on the Daedalus. We will be in touch again soon.”

“Well, that’s good news,” John said after the video ended.

“We have to wait another month,” Rodney whined.

“A month or so isn’t too bad. Besides, they sent you coffee.”

Rodney smiled. “Yes, they did.”

They opened the other two crates. One was filled with extra weapons and ammo, and the other contained food and medical supplies. They unloaded the supplies into the jumper and brought the video to camp for the rest of the group to watch.

***

The group celebrated with a small feast and lots of Athosian ale. They drank so much ale, that Ronon was starting to doze on the ground. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Laura said as she kneeled in the dirt and poked at Ronon.

Ronon grunted and blinked his eyes open. “What?”

“I think I need to get you into bed.”

Ronon grinned wolfishly and tried to get up, but everything began to spin. “I think I’m sleeping here tonight.”

Laura continued to poke Ronon and whined, “Come on. I want some sexin’.”

Ronon tried a second time to sit up, but only managed to roll to his side.

Teyla walked over laughing. “I do not think he will be moving anytime soon.”

Laura sighed and stood up. She lost her balance and grabbed onto Teyla for support. The both of them held onto each other to avoid falling, but soon collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles. They grinned goofily at each other and burst out laughing again.

Laura leaned over Ronon and whispered in his ear. He lifted his head and arched an eyebrow, glancing from Laura’s mouth to her eyes and back. He tried to get up one more time, failed, and then thumped his head back on the ground. “Sorry, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“Are you sure you do not wish for us to assist you back to your room?” Teyla asked.

“Nah, I’m good right here where the world isn’t spinning.”

“The world is always spinning,” Laura teased.

Ronon would have glared if he had the energy. Instead, he just flapped a hand in their general direction. “I just need some sleep.” A minute later, he was snoring.

***

It was late and John was still buzzed from a mix of alcohol and the excitement at being rescued soon. Rodney had gone to his hut when the party broke up for the night, but John wasn’t tired enough to sleep yet. He strolled over to Rodney’s hut and knocked on the door.

There was a muttered curse and then Rodney opened the door. He already looked sleep rumpled, and John couldn’t resist running his hand across the top of Rodney’s bed-mussed hair. Rodney’s eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to speak, but John was well beyond words. He stepped forward into Rodney’s hut and captured his lips in a searing kiss.

For a moment, Rodney kissed back and John’s body hummed with pleasure until he was forcefully shoved backwards. “What’s your problem?”

Rodney sighed. “The Daedalus will be coming for us eventually.”

“Yeah, so what if it is?”

“It’s going to bring us back to **Earth**.” Rodney spoke slowly, as though he was explaining one of his scientific theories to a moron.

John crossed his arms of his chest and stared at Rodney defiantly.

“This is about your career, John.”

“So, that’s it? We deny the tension that’s been building up for **three years**?”

“I’m not letting you ruin your life over me.”

John unfurled his arms and tapped his pointer finger. “First of all, I wouldn’t be ruining my life.” He tapped his middle finger. “And second, don’t you think that’s my decision to make?”

“We can’t keep doing this.” Rodney help the door open. “Goodnight, John.”

John shoved past Rodney and stormed out the room. The chill from the night air was not enough to cool the tempest brewing in John’s head. He was tired of the rejection, especially since it was based on the stupid notion that John actually gave a crap about his career. Now that Atlantis was gone, what did he have to look forward to back on Earth? Some boring missions without Rodney, Ronon, and Teyla.

When John arrived back at his tent, he fished around in his backpack for his running shoes. He slid his feet into them, tied them tight and slipped off into the darkness to burn off some of the tension he felt. The moon was just a sliver in the sky, barely enough to illuminate the ground below, but John didn’t care. He ran. He ran until his calves ached and lungs burned. He ran until all he could feel was the pounding in his head as the alcohol left his system. Then he stopped.

In the darkness, John realized that he was lost. Usually, when he ran with Ronon or Laura, they didn’t stray too far from the village and when John explored the planet, he brought along a scanner or life-signs detector. He didn’t even have his headset. In his haste to escape his emotions, John ran without thinking and now found himself in an unfamiliar location.

John tried to remember how long ago he left his hut. Had it been twenty minutes? Thirty? He guessed he was about three miles from camp but wasn’t sure which way. All the woods looked the same at night and John never had a good sense of direction. The best option was to head back the way he thought he came from and hope he didn’t get turned around the wrong way. John walked in the direction he believed was toward the camp, looking for any familiar landmarks. He tried not to think of Rodney and his stupid lips, or his stupid blue eyes that went wide with wonder when he found the answer to a problem. He tried not to think about their kisses and where they could lead if Rodney wasn’t so stubborn.

Stopping to gain his bearings, John looked around. This spot seemed familiar. He definitely remembered being here before. John glanced down to see sneakered footprints in the dirt. John sighed. He’d been going around in circles.

Last time John was here he thought he made a left at the tree. This time he went right. Weariness began to seep into him. It was late and he didn’t feel any urgency to get back to camp and face Rodney. Maybe his subconscious was keeping him lost on purpose. John was contemplating give up for the night and finding a place to settle down until morning when he heard a crackling beneath his feet and fell into a large hole. As he landed, he felt an excruciating pain in his ankle. “Fuck,” he yelled as he slid to a stop. John gritted his teeth and tried to look at his surroundings. The pit was about eight feet deep, and probably designed to trap animals. There was no way to get out on his own, not with a busted ankle, and there was no way to call for help.

“Great, just great.” John hissed as he lowered himself into a seated position to take the pressure off his ankle. The sun was slowly rising on the horizon. He just had to wait for someone to find him.

***

Rodney felt guilty about the way he rejected John. He knew that his concerns were legitimate, but it still bothered him to see John put himself out there only to be turned down. Not that Rodney wanted to say no, he just didn’t want John to make a decision he’s later regret and end up resenting Rodney. But John was right, it was his choice to make. They needed to talk about things calmly and rationally, not fueled by their desire. He wanted to explain that to John, tell him that they should think things through before making such a big decision.

Stepping out into the cool night air, Rodney walked over to John’s hut. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was no response. “Can we please talk?” he asked. Still nothing, not even a _go away, Rodney_. Rodney carefully opened the door. “John?”

The room was dimly lit by a lantern but John was not there. Rodney tapped his headset. “John?” He could hear his voice come from John’s headset on the other side of the room. Rodney decided to wait in John’s hut for him to come back. His eyes felt heavy, so he figured it wouldn’t hurt to close them, just for a little while. Rodney leaned back on John’s cot and dozed.

***

When Laura and Teyla met up at camp the next morning, Ronon was exactly where they left him. Teyla heated up some leftover stew while Laura attempted to wake up Ronon. He grunted and swatted at her hands when she gently tried to push at his shoulder.

“Rooonon,” she cooed. “Come on, sweetie. Time to get up.”

Ronon grumbled but opened his eyes. He sniffed the air. “Food?”

Laura helped him sit up against the log and handed him a bowl of stew. He began eating slowly, taking small bites until he was sure his stomach was settled. Every time he looked up he winced at the blinding light of the sun.

“Headache?” Laura asked.

“Yeah, I think I partied a little too hard last night.”

“I have something that may help,” Teyla offered. She stood and picked up a metal teapot. “I will be right back.”

“Thanks,” Ronon said. He pulled Laura over and kissed her on the forehead.

Laura moved up onto the log bracketing Ronon with her legs. She rubbed his neck and shoulders, working the muscles until Ronon relaxed against her. Her hands moved up into his hair, massaging his scalp and temples. “No more crazy drinking, sillyhead,” she said.

Tipping his head back into Laura’s lap, Ronon looked into her eyes and smiled. “Good idea.”

***

The sun was shining through the window. Rodney yawned and stretched. His eyes fluttered open to unfamiliar surroundings. “What the hell.” The room came into focus and Rodney realized it was John’s room. He half expected to see John smiling at him indulgently from a nearby chair, but he was still not back. Rodney rolled off the cot and headed into the main camp.

Teyla was sitting by the fire with Laura and Ronon, boiling water for tea. “Good morning, Rodney.”

“Uh, hi. Have you seen John?”

“Not yet today. Have you checked his tent?”

Rodney wrung his hands nervously. “See, here’s the thing,” he said. “We kind of got into an argument last night and I haven’t seen him since. I checked his room last night and even waited there until morning, but he never came back.”

“That is strange. Have you tried him on the radio?” Teyla asked.

“He left his radio in his room,” Rodney explained. “I also noticed his life-signs detector and scanner on his desk this morning. Do you think he’s lost? He’s probably just lost, right? I mean, I have never seen anyone with a worse sense of direction. I hope he’s not hurt. Oh my god, what if he’s hurt?”

“Rodney,” Teyla said firmly to interrupt his panic. His mouth snapped shut and he stared at her. Teyla stood up and put a reassuring hand on Rodney’s arm. “I am sure John is fine. I will gather up a group to help find him. Go wake the others.”

Rodney hurried over to Evan’s hut and rapped on the door. There was no reply so he knocked again. “Lorne?” he called out.

Radek’s head popped out from behind the door. “Evan overdid it last night,” she said. “He’s still asleep. Is everything alright?”

“John’s missing.”

“What?”

“He’s not in camp and his radio is in his room. We could really use some help to find him.”

“We’ll meet up with you in five minutes,” Radek replied.

***

After quickly drinking a cup of tea to help with his headache, Ronon walked around John’s tent, carefully inspecting every inch. After a few minutes, he came outside and pointed to the tracks outside the door. “It looks like he went for a run judging by these tracks and his missing sneakers.” Ronon followed the tracks to the edge of the forest. “Their less distinct here because of all the leaves, so we’ll split up into three groups branching off from this trail to cover more area.”

Teyla lead one group to the East and the others went with Laura to the West. Rodney followed closely behind Ronon and Evan as the trio made their way North. They called John’s name every few feet, hoping he would respond.

“Shouldn’t he be able to hear us?” Rodney asked. He tried to steady the panic in his voice. “I mean, if he was okay, he would answer us.”

“The trees prevent the sound from carrying very far,” Ronon explained. “We’ll find him.”

They had walked for another twenty minutes when they saw a single blip on Rodney’s life-signs detector. “There’s something about 300 meters ahead.” He rushed forward shouting out John’s name and was relieved to finally hear an answer.

“Hey!” John yelled. “Hey, down here!”

They rushed to the side of a deep hole. John was slumped at the bottom covered in sweat and dirt, and his ankle was swollen and twisted, but he was alive. “Oh, thank god,” Rodney said. “Just hang on. We’ll get you out.” He tapped his headset. “We found him!”

“Thank the Ancestors,” Teyla replied. “We will meet you at your location.” 

With Halling’s help, they created a sling to haul John up from the pit. As Evan strapped John to a makeshift stretcher, Rodney grabbed his hand which was cold to the touch. John squeezed back weakly and forced a smile.

“You could have broken your neck,” Rodney scolded, but had to swallow around the tightness in his throat.

John shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“You could have died,” Rodney whispered, clutching John’s hand tighter.

“How is that different from every other day?” John joked but winced from pain as he shivered.

Rodney leaned forward and kissed John, a soft sweep of lips against lips. “Just get better, okay.”

***

Galen was waiting for them when they arrived back at camp. Ronon and Evan helped John hop from the stretcher to a cot. He hissed as Galen striped off the shoe and sock, and then carefully examined John’s ankle. It was swollen with a large, purple bruise. 

Galen furrowed his thick, greying eyebrows. “The good news is, your ankle doesn’t seem to be broken, only sprained. You were really lucky. With a fall like that, you could have broken your neck.”

“That’s exactly what I told him,” Rodney said.

“In time, it will heal,” Galen continued. “But you’ll be hobbling around for quite some time.” He soaked John’s ankle in cold water to dull the pain and then wrapped it with a flexible dried bark. After sorting through the medical supplies sent over from Earth, Galen pulled out a bottle of anti-inflammatory painkillers. “From what Dr. Beckett showed me, these reduce the pain and help with the swelling.” He read the back of the bottle and handed it to Rodney. “Make sure he takes two pills every eight hours.”

Rodney nodded and accepted the bottle.

“Also, try to keep the leg elevated and make sure he gets plenty of rest. When the swelling goes down, we can switch over to one of these softer bandages,” Galen explained, holding up an elastic ankle wrap. 

***

Rodney kept watch as John dozed on and off for the next sixteen hours. The others offered to take turns, but Rodney insisted he wanted to stay and promised he ask for help when needed. Rodney had just woken up from a short nap to find John staring at him.

“Is everything okay? Can I get you anything?”

John studied Rodney thoughtfully for a few moments. “You kissed me,” he said eventually.

Rodney looked down at the floor and then back up at John. “Yeah.”

“I thought we weren’t going to do that anymore.”

“Yeah, well . . .” Rodney turned away, hiding the flush on his cheeks.

The room was quiet except for the chirping of bugs in the distance. Suddenly, Rodney’s head jerked up. “John . . .”

At the same time, John said, “We . . .”

They both fell silent. “You go first,” Rodney said.

John paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “We don’t have to go back, ya know.”

Rodney’s mouth opened, but it still took him a minute to respond. “That’s crazy. Where would we go? More importantly, how will we get there?”

“We can stay here,” John suggested.

Rodney snorted. “Oh yeah, because you know how well I do with primitive societies.”

“That’s not the point. We can go anywhere. The Alpha site, the planet where we relocated the Taranians, hell even the Genii would take us in now.”

“I don’t know. I mean . . . what would we do?”

John smiled, a genuine smile that filled Rodney with hope. “We do what we always do,” he said, “we survive.”

Rodney looked skeptical, so John continued speaking. “We can explore other planets, trading our services. I could train people with weapons and you could fix technology. There’s nothing left for me on Earth. How could I stand piloting anything else after flying a Puddle jumper? And you . . . you’d probably be stuffed in a lab at Area 51. You’re way too smart to waste your time there . . . not when you could be here. Last time we were back on Earth, we were both miserable. Who knows, we might be able to fix the jumper and maybe even find a ZPM along the way.” 

Rodney stared at him in shock.

“I mean, I know you’d be giving up a lot, but I couldn’t bear to be separated from you again. I know you’d miss Earth but . . .”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’ll stay here with you.”

John surged forward, grabbing Rodney’s shirt and pulling him in for a desperate kiss. “Ow,” he said and slumped back into bed, panting.

“You’re crazy,” Rodney said. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your when you fell?”

“Rodney,” John whined.

“How about we wait until you heal a bit before we kiss and make up,” Rodney teased.

“Fine,” John sighed. “But as soon as I’m feeling better, I expect you to fuck my brains out.”

“Jesus, John,” Rodney said. “You can’t say things like that and expect someone not to act on it.

John smiled smugly and pulled Rodney in for another kiss, this time slow and sweet, letting his lips linger. “That’s what I’m counting on,” he said, accented with a goofy eyebrow waggle.

Rodney shook his head and smiled fondly at John. “Yes, you’re definitely crazy.” He stood up and readjusted the pillows under John’s ankle before tucking him back under the blankets. Rodney leaned over and kissed John on the forehead. “Get some rest.”

***

The day before the team was due to give their status report, they received more supplies from Earth including a couple of naquadah generators, some new uniforms and a crate of more medical supplies. John was happy to have some new clothing since his black t-shirt was starting to fray and the leather garments that the Athosians wore made him itchy. Rodney hugged one of the naquadah generators after unpacking it from all its protective padding. The team gathered around Radek’s laptop as he loaded up the newest message from the SGC.

Samantha Carter appeared on the screen. “Hey guys. It’s going to take a little longer to come get you because once the Daedalus is repaired, it’s need back in the field. Hopefully the generators we sent will help you keep in touch. If there is anything you need, we’ll do our best to send it to you.”

John shifted on his crutches and grinned. “You heard her. Time to make you Christmas lists.”

Rodney and Radek’s eyes lit up and they scrambled into the jumper, excitedly babbling about what they should add to their requisition forms. Evan and John’s eyes met and they shared an amused smile. Ronon and Evan lifted a crate and carried it back to camp with John hobbling behind them.

Rodney called out from the jumper. “Take one of those generators too. Then we can finally have some electricity.”

***

Over the past few weeks, Evan had created several canvases from stretched, tanned leather. He set his easel up in the clearing by the lake facing the setting sun and had the rest set up behind him. His palette was made from wax-coated wood and had little wells dug out to hold the paint. He had several brushes made from wood and animal hair set up on a wooden table. Teyla arrived with a small group while Evan was adding each color on to the palette.

“Hello, Evan,” she said, picking an easel near his. “You picked such a lovely spot.”

Evan put his palette down on a chair next to him. “I figured people would enjoy the view from here. And a sunset isn’t too hard to paint if you use the right technique.”

“What style of painting do you prefer?”

“I’m more of an impressionist kinda guy.” At Teyla’s quizzical look he added, “Basically, you paint with shorter, more visible strokes.”

“Is that what you’ll be teaching today?”

“I’m going to start you off with something simpler, the way my mother did for me,” Evan explained.

“What technique is that?” 

Evan turned to face the group. “There was a wise man on Earth, named Bob Ross, who believed that anyone could paint. We’ll start off with his approach. I think it’ll be more fun. If you enjoy it, we can always work up to other methods.”

Evan showed everyone how to hold a palette and which colors he planned on using for the lesson. “I added plant oils to the paints to change the way they flow, but they are still pretty thick. This is considered a wet-on-wet technique, where you don’t have to wait for each layer to dry before starting the next.” As people in the group nodded excitedly, butterflies twirled in Evan’s stomach. He admitted to himself that he was a little nervous to be talking in front of all these people about something he was so passionate about. He never taught an art class before, but he was sure his mother would be proud.

***

It had been two weeks since John had sprained his ankle and he was due for his checkup with Galen. Rodney insisted he went with John to his visit to make sure he followed the doctor’s instructions. When they stepped inside the tent, John leaned his crutches against the wall and Rodney help him maneuver onto the cot.

“Hi doc,” John said cheerfully.

Galen nodded. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m still a little sore, but much better than last week.”

“Do you think he still needs the crutches?” Rodney asked. “I think he still needs to crutches so he doesn’t kill himself.”

“Rodney.”

“What? You’re asking me not to care about your well-being?”

Galen carefully unwrapped the bandage on John’s ankle. “Let me take a look and we’ll make a decision.” He gently felt around all the muscles and bones. “Well, the swelling has definitely gone down, and the bruising has faded.”

“See,” John said, looking up at Rodney.

Galen continued checking the ankle and John hissed.

Rodney squeezed John’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“It’s fine; I’m fine. Just a little sore.”

“You’re still not 100%, but I think you’ll survive without those crutches. Just make sure to keep your ankle wrapped tightly and come see me if you have any issues.”

“Thanks, doc.”

“And you should start doing some simple stretches, but no running for at least a few weeks.”

“I’ll keep him out of trouble,” Rodney said and steered John outside.

***

Rodney helped John to his tent

“Okay, sex now,” John said.

Rodney looked him up and down. “Okay, but nothing too acrobatic until your all healed up.”

“Sure thing,” John drawled, smiling slow and seductively before stripping off his shirt.

Rodney stepped forward kissed John as he unbuckled his belt. John pulled Rodney closer and they continued kissing as John’s pants slid off his narrow hips onto the floor. As he walked backwards to the bed, John stepped out of his pants and pulled his hands off of Rodney for long enough to remove his boxers.

Rodney helped John sit on the bed and sank to his knees. He pushed himself in between John’s legs and stared into his eyes as he teased John, fingers tracing the shape of his cock. With his hands planted on the bed for support, John leaned back to watch Rodney with avid fascination.

Finally, Rodney leaned forward to close his lips around the head of John’s cock, slowly sliding down its length.

John moaned. “If at any point you try to stop, I will kill you,” he promised.

Rodney chuckled and the vibrations sent shivers through John’s body. He wanted to buck up into that heat, ignoring the dull ache in his ankle, but the steady pressure of Rodney’s hands on his thighs pinned him in place. Rodney kept the pace slow, ratcheting up the pleasure bit by bit, his mouth exploring every inch of John’s cock.

John was being taken apart with every flick of Rodney’s tongue, every slide of Rodney’s lips. The tension mounted, building and building until John thought he might scream. The base of his spine tingled and his body was flushed and dripping with sweat from the strain of holding still. Rodney continued to drag things out, slowing down to a teasing caress of his lips.

John whined and Rodney smiled around his cock. He looked up at John through thick eyelashes, his cheeks flushed and lips puffy. Rodney took John in deep and swallowed around him, pulling John to the very precipice of orgasm and pushing him off the cliff. John felt like he was flying, soaring through open skies as he came in Rodney’s mouth.

“Gimmie a minute to catch my breath,” John said after flopping backwards on the bed, panting.

Rodney leaned on the bed to push himself to his feet and began stripping. He climbed onto the bed next to John who was still dazed from his orgasm. When he was more coherent, John turned to face Rodney and kissed him passionately.

“What do you want?” John whispered.

“It’s not going to take much,” Rodney said. “Watching you was the best porn I’ve ever seen.”

John kissed him again, sloppy, uncoordinated kisses as he wrapped his hand around Rodney’s cock. He used long drawn-out strokes, trying to make it last the way Rodney had done for him. John wanted to give Rodney as much pleasure as possible.

Rodney stopped kissing and pressed his face against John’s shoulder as he thrust into John’s hand. John squeezed a little tighter, and Rodney’s hips stuttered as he splashed fluid between them. He twitched through the aftershocks, gasping as his heart pounded in his chest.

“So, was that worth three years of waiting?” Rodney asked, tracing constellations on John’s stomach.

John huffed out a laugh. His heart was still beating a staccato rhythm, his body was humming, and his brain was still soaring. “Definitely worth it.”

 

***

The gate chevrons hummed to life as the gate dialed Earth. It was time for their weekly check-in and Rodney has written a 50-page proposal as to why they should stay in the Pegasus galaxy. He rubbed his hands together nervously.

John placed a steadying hand on his should. “Relax,” he said. “We’ve got this.” The conference room came into view with Elizabeth and General Landry seated at the table. John stood at attention and saluted.

“At ease,” Landry said.

Elizabeth smiled warmly. “John, Rodney, it’s good to see you both.”

John returned the smile. “Hi, Elizabeth.”

“Yes, hello, it’s good to see you too,” Rodney echoed.

Gentlemen” Landry said, getting down to business. “I have some disappointing news. Unfortunately, with Atlantis destroyed and the ongoing war against the Ori, the plans for the midway station have been put on hold. And since the Daedalus is still needed here on Earth, there’s no telling when we’d be able to send out a rescue team.”

“Trust me, we’re doing everything in our power to find another solution,” Elizabeth added.

“Well,” John drawled. “With your permission, sir, instead of waiting around to be rescued, we’d like to establish an outpost here in the Pegasus galaxy.”

“Yes,” Rodney chimed in. “I’m uploading a proposal outlining the ways we could still be useful in the Pegasus galaxy. There are still plenty of unexplored planets teeming with new technology just waiting for us to discover. I mean, it would be silly to waste my undeniably valuable talents just sitting around waiting.”

Hank kept his expression neutral. “We’ll take it under consideration.”

***

In the end, the SGC decided it was in everyone’s best interest to preserve a small outpost in the Pegasus galaxy to keep an eye on the Asuarans and the Wraith. John, Evan and Laura were in charge of finding a suitable base of operations, while Rodney and Radek were tasked with establishing a secure network with Stargate Command. They remained with the Athosians for a few months until they located a small planet on the outskirts of the galaxy untouched by the Wraith. There an old Ancient outpost located close to the Stargate with several buildings that could be used as lodging. The Athosians had offer for them to stay on New Athos, but John was afraid their presence would eventually out the people there at risk.

Once the settled into their new home, they fell into the old routine of going out on missions and searching for technology. They traded with other civilizations, careful not to divulge where they came from. With regular supply deliveries from the SGC, they were well stocked on everything they could need. It was everything that John could ever want, surrounded by the people he cared about the most, while getting to explore the galaxy. The only thing he missed was flying, but he was confident he would eventually get that back too.

***

“Fuck, yeah,” John said as Rodney slowly pushed into him. The burn and stretch as he adjusted to Rodney’s thickness felt amazing. He concentrated on breathing, head hanging between his shoulders while he held himself up on his hands and knees. Tiny tremors trembled through his body as he waited for Rodney to be flush against him.

Rodney’s hands gripped John’s hips tightly enough turn the skin pink around his fingers. He eased in gently, wanting to feel every bit of John as he inched forward. Sweat trickled down his temples landing in tiny droplets onto John’s back. Rodney leaned in to lick the salty taste from John’s spine and was rewarded with a moan.

“C,mon, Rodney,” John begged, using every ounce of his willpower to just hold still.

Finally, Rodney capitulated, groaning as he started a maddening slow rhythm that had every hair on the back of John’s neck standing at attention. With each unhurried thrust, Rodney mapped John’s back with his lips, his teeth, little nips that contrasted with soft slide of skin between them. Rodney rolled his hips, letting the tension coil between them like wire being tightly wound around a spool.

The slapping sound of their skin was a drumbeat to their harsh breathing, as they spiraled higher and higher, almost dizzy with the pleasure of it. Rodney slid his hand around to John’s cock and began stroking, the tempo sloppily out of synch with the rest of their movements and he knew Rodney was getting close.

Pleasure pooled in John, twisting him in spirals until his arms gave out and buckled, face pressing into the mattress as he came in Rodney’s hand. AS he lay there in a relaxed heap catching his breath, Rodney fucked him harder, chasing John’s orgasm with his own. Rodney swore as his body stiffened and John could feel his warm release.

Rodney sighed as he collapsed next to John on the bed. “That is never gonna get old.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” John said. “Eventually, I may not be as exciting as a shiny new piece of tech.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re the reason I even get to look for new technology.”

John folded his arms behind his head. “Do you ever think about home?”

“Sometimes I think about the Nobel prize I could be winning.”

“Not Earth,” John corrected. “Atlantis.”

Rodney rolled to his side, trying to read John’s schooled expression. “Yeah,” he admitted. “Do you think we’ll ever find another city like it?”

“I hope so.”

“Is that what keeps you here?” Rodney asked softly, carding his fingers through John’s wayward hair. “You’re hoping to find a new home?”

John pulled Rodney in for a kiss and kept their foreheads pressed together for a long moment. He pulled away and looked into Rodney’s eyes. “Atlantis is what brought me to the Pegasus galaxy, but you’re what’s keeping me here. It’s always been you.”

 

“One day, I’ll give you back your sea and your sky,” Rodney whispered.

John smiled. “I wouldn’t expect any less from the smartest man in two galaxies.”


End file.
